The Pitch Perfect Life - Part 2
by CajunQueen714
Summary: Follow Jesse and Beca (and their friends) through the trials and tribulations of marriage, parenthood and everything else life decides to throw at them. Continuation of The Pitch Perfect Life.
1. Chapter 1

(MOTHER'S DAY - One Year Later)

When Jesse heard Dylan wake up on Mother's Day he quickly sprung into action careful not to wake Beca in the process. He turned off the monitor and closed their bedroom door as he walked out. As he walked into Dylan's bedroom, he said, "Good Mornin' Little Man!"

Rubbing his eyes, he said, "Mornin'...Where's Mommy?"

As he lifted Dylan out of his crib and said "Mommy's sleeping" as he walked over to the rocker where he sat and rubbed his back for a few minutes. Dylan was very much Beca's child, he was not a morning person at all. After rocking for several minutes, Jesse asked him, "are you ready to get that pee pee diaper off?" "Yeah..." he mumbled sleepily. Walking over to the changing table, he asked Dylan, "Wanna help me make Mommy a surprise?"

"Yeah...Mommy's prize."

As he put Dylan on his hip he said, "We have to be very quiet when we go downstairs so we don't wake Mommy...ok?"

"Ok Daddy." Dylan said putting his head on Jesse's shoulder, "I want milk."

"Ok bud, let's get you a sippy cup and make breakfast for Mommy."

Jesse fixed Dylan some milk and let him sit on the island...something Beca never let him do because she was scared he would fall. If she woke up and found Dylan sitting up there, Jesse was gonna get it...BIG time.

Jesse prepared a homemade Belgium waffle, fresh fruit and yogurt for Dylan which he munched on, while Jesse prepared the same for Beca. When he was finished he scooped Dylan up in one arm and carried the breakfast tray in the other. "Remember Mommy's sleeping so we have to be very quiet. We have to be sweet when it's time to wake her ok?"

"I be sweet to Mommy." Dylan said. Jesse entered their bedroom and put the breakfast tray on her hope chest at the end of their bed then he and Dylan crawled into bed with her. Dylan got right in Beca's face and gave her sloppy wet kisses on her cheek to wake her. "Mommy wake up." he whispered.

"I'm awake baby." she said.

"Me and Daddy make you breffess."

"You did?" she said pulling him in for a snuggle and kissing his cheeks.

"Yeah, we did...Huh Daddy?"

"We did." Jesse said reaching over to kiss her forehead before he got up to get the tray. Beca sat up as Jesse brought the tray to her side of the bed. She felt nauseous but tried to ignore the churning in her stomach hoping that if she ate breakfast it would help. Dylan laid back on the pillows with his sippy cup and watched Disney Jr. while Beca ate breakfast and talked to Jesse about the day. He noticed the faces she was making as she ate and asked, "Babe, you ok?"

"I have a headache and I'm a little crampy."

"I'm sorry. I'll take him upstairs and get him dressed so you can shower. Maybe that'll help."

"Thanks. I hope so."

"Come on little man, let's go get dressed."

* * *

><p>Beca got up and took a shower when she realized, she was late. "Crap!" She hurried to get out of the shower and started digging in the basket in the cabinet beneath the sink. She pulled out a pregnancy test and ran to the toilet. When she was finished she put the test on the counter and got dressed.<p>

"Oh my God!" she said when she checked the test.

"Babe...are you ok?" Jesse asked throught the bathroom door.

"Umm...yeah."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Ok...I'm going to let Laney out. Dylan is in our bed watching TV."

"Ok...I'll be out in a minute."

* * *

><p>A couple of minutes later, Dylan started calling Beca. "Mommy...Mommy!"<p>

"Yeah baby." she said through the door.

"Mommy...come out." Beca opened the door and Dylan immediately attached himself to her leg. "Hey baby." she said as she scooped him up. "Where's Daddy?" Dylan pointed to the patio door, "he taked Laney out."

"Let's go find him."

* * *

><p>"Jess" she called as they walked outside. Dylan started calling Jesse as well, "Daddy! Daddy!"<p>

"Hey" He said walking up behind her.

"Hey babe...ummm, I have something I need to tell you."

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Yeah...better than ok." she said with a huge grin.

"Alright, well...what's up?"

"I'm pregnant!" she squealed.

"Oh my God! Are you sure?"

"Positive...I just took a test."

"Dylan you're going to be a big brother!" Jesse told him.

"Big brudder." Dylan said pointing to himself.

"The best big brother." Beca said squeezing her baby as he giggled.

"How far along do you think you are?"

"Five maybe six weeks at most."

"So...when do you think it happened?" he asked.

She winked and said, "the night of the MTV Music Awards."

Jesse smirked, "We did have a lot to celebrate that night."

"We sure did." She said as she pulled him closer for a kiss.

"Pretty soon we'll have two kiddos." Jesse said as he kissed Dylan's cheek and took him from Beca.

"Yep, things are definitely going to be changing around here."

"Maybe we'll give little man a sister."

"With any luck. Then we'll have one of each and be done." Beca smiled knowing full well she wasn't going to get off that easy because Jesse wanted a big family like he had growing up.

"Nice try...two is great but I'd like a few more than that."

"I know, I know but one at a time huh?"

"Mommy..." Dylan said as he reached for Beca. Taking him from Jesse, he tried pulling her tank top down to nurse.

"No, let's go inside and get you a sippy cup." Dylan put his head on her shoulder and started crying; it absolutely broke her heart. She weaned him two months earlier and he wasn't very happy about it at all. She thought she was doing the right thing by nursing until he was 18 months old but weaning him turned out to be way more difficult than she thought. She had never given him a bottle, she always nursed. He started using a cup at a year old but only for water or juice and now months later he hated her. "He hates me Jess." Beca cried as she handed Dylan back to Jesse and walked in the house.

Following her he said, "Babe, he doesn't hate you, he just doesn't understand." Jesse reassured her as he rubbed Dylan's back to calm him.

Beca handed Dylan his cup which he accepted. She kissed his tear stained cheek and he again reached for her. This time when she held him, he put his head on her shoulder and drank from his cup. "I love you my sweet baby. I love you _so_ much."

Jesse pulled her into an embrace and kissed her forehead, "It's going to be ok babe, just give him some time. He'll adjust."

"I know but I honestly think it's been harder on me because I want to give in. I miss him."

"Babe, he's right here. He isn't going anywhere."

* * *

><p>On Monday, Beca called Debi for an appointment. Debi told her she had an opening on Wednesday at 10 and Beca gladly took it. She texted Jesse the date and time of the appointment and asked him to let his assistant know he would be late.<p>

When Jesse asked Tiffany, his assistant, to reschedule his appointments for that day she rolled her eyes and huffed. Tiffany was sent to them by a temp agency when his assistant decided two months earlier not to return to work after having a baby. Tiffany had a bad attitude and just wanted to sit in the office and look pretty. Because she was a temp she didn't think she should be expected to work and made it clear that she was only there to collect a pay check. For whatever reason, she took an immediate dislike to Jesse and was always ugly to Beca when she came by the office.

* * *

><p>The next two days went by quickly. Beca was anxious to get to her appointment. According to her calculations, she should be due in mid to late January, but she really wanted Debi to confirm it.<p>

When they arrived at the birthing center, Debi and Hope greeted them warmly. Debi couldn't get over how much Dylan had grown. Even though he had gone to all of Beca's post-natal appointments, Debi hadn't seen him since right after his 1st birthday which was 9 months ago. After catching up for a few minutes, Debi took them in one of the exam rooms. She asked Beca a few questions then put the doplar on her tummy to listen for the heartbeat. Beca didn't realize she was holding her breath until she heard the sweet sound of her little ones heartbeat for the first time. Debi then did a quick ultrasound just to determine Beca's due date.

"Well...everything looks and sounds good." Debi said. "You were right on target. You're 6 weeks 3 days and I estimate your due to be on or about January 15th."

"So, we'll see you in 6 weeks right?" Beca asked.

"Yes ma'am. Any questions?"

"No...this isn't our first rodeo." Jesse joked.

"Just remember that no two pregnancies are the same. So, if anything comes up don't hesitate to call."

"We won't." Beca said as Debi walked them out.


	2. Chapter 2

The weeks seemed to go by quickly. The morning sickness was awful this go-round and Beca had lost quite a few pounds but otherwise she felt fine and was doing well. She was just about finished up at the studio one afternoon Beca decided to call Jesse at his office. She packed Dylan's things as she waited for Jesse to answer.

"Hey babe. How's your day going?"

"Not too bad. What are you up to?"

"Dylan and I just finished up at the office. Mind if we stop by for a few minutes?"

"Not at all. I'd love it."

"See you in about 15 minutes."

"Drive safely. Love you."

"Always do. Love you too."

* * *

><p>Beca and Dylan made a quick stop at Pinkberry for a treat then went up to Jesse's office. Beca didn't make a habit of giving Dylan sweet treats but Pinkberry served frozen Greek yogurt that could be eaten plain or topped with fresh fruit. Dylan got a sweet treat that was really healthy and since it was something she was actually able to hold down for more than seven seconds, it was total a win-win situation.<p>

As she walked into Jesse's office she said hello to Tiffany, who was filing her nails and talking loudly on her cell phone while the office phone rang steadily off the hook. When she heard Tiffany mumble something under her breath, she brought the stroller to a stop and confronted her. The other girls in the office heard what Tiffany said and knew the confrontation wasn't going to be pretty.

"What did you say?" Beca demanded as she motioned for Jayme to take Dylan into Jesse's office.

"I have to call you back." Tiffany told the person on the phone. "There's a fuckin' psycho at my desk."

"What in the hell is your problem?"

When Tiffany looked up she said, "I said you look like you've been rode hard and put away wet."

"I've been nothing but nice to you. " Beca said. She knew she looked bad but Tiffany's comment was uncalled for. She had always been nice to her. It was true the baby was wreaking havoc on her. Her morning sickness was terrible this time around. She couldn't hold anything down and it definitely showed.

"I just call'em them like I see'em."

"Oh, is that right?" Beca said getting right up in Tiffany's face and forcing her to sit back down. "If you ever speak to or about me in that manner again, you're going to have to shove your toothbrush up your ass to brush your teeth...You got that little girl?!" Tiffany's eyes got big and she gulped. Beca then turned to walk away.

"Why you walking away? You scared?"

Jesse walked out of his office and heard what Tiffany said. "THAT'S ENOUGH TIFFANY!" he screamed. He took Beca's hand and tried to get her to walk back to his office, but she broke free and chuckled before saying, "I'm not walking away because I'm scared of you. I'm walking away because I'm scared of what I'll do **_to _**you."

"Whatever bitch." Tiffany said picking up her cell phone and going back to filing her nails. Jesse was literally holding Beca back at this point. When he finally got her to stop fighting him, he took her face in his hands and said, "Babe stop. She's not worth it, think about Dylan and the baby...please." Whatever fight Beca had left in her went by the wayside. She was on the verge of tears but she wasn't going to let that bitch see her cry.

* * *

><p>Cliff, Jesse's boss, heard the screaming and came out of his office. "What the hell is going on out here?"<p>

Beca walked over to Cliff, pointed at Tiffany and said, "I was verbally assaulted by that little...that little... free loader over there." Beca was really trying hard to keep a civil tongue in her head.

"Tiffany, my office...NOW!" Cliff roared. A few minutes later, Cliff dismissed Tiffany and called Jayme, Melissa and Amanda into his office. After hearing their account of what happened he walked out of his office and told Tiffany, "Pack your shit and get the hell out of my office...NOW! Melissa, please call security and have her banned and escorted from the building immediately."

"Yes sir." Melissa said as she dialed the phone

* * *

><p>Jesse took Beca in his office and asked her what happened. Jayme had already given him the run down but he wanted to hear what Beca had to say. Jesse asked Jayme to take Dylan into the conference room and put on a movie. She agreed and said she would stay with him as long as they needed her to.<p>

"Babe...what happened?"

"I was polite when I walked in, I swear." she cried into his shoulder.

"Baby, I know...but I need to know what she said."

"It was awful." she said realizing she had gotten mascara all over his shirt, "she said, that I looked like 'I had been rode hard and put away wet'. When I asked her to repeat what she said, she told the person on the phone that she had to go because she had 'a fuckin' psycho at her desk'."

"Are you fucking serious?" Jesse asked.

"That's exactly what she said." At that moment, Cliff knocked on Jesse's door and waited for the ok to go in.

"Not now." Jesse said not knowing it was Cliff.

"Jess...it's me, can I come in? We need to talk."

"Ah shit." Jesse said. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah...you can let him in."

"Come in Cliff." When Cliff walked in, Beca's back was to him, she was looking out of the floor to ceiling windows that overlooked downtown LA. He could tell she was upset by the way her body shook. He could hear her sobs and if that wasn't enough, he saw the evidence on Jesse's shirt.

Jesse walked over to where Cliff was standing and whispered, "Look Cliff...I don't care what Tiffany said, Beca didn't do anything wrong."

"I know Jesse. I spoke to Jayme and the other girls. They told me what Tiffany said to her. I fired her Jesse. She's gone. I'm sorry I didn't do something about her sooner."

"Thank God! I'd rather work alone than have her for an assistant for another day. I cannot believe that temp agency sent her here."

"Jayme has agreed to be your new assistant, if you're ok with that."

"Oh God yes, I am...she's great. She's has Dylan in the conference room right now. I couldn't let him see Beca like this." he said turning to look at Beca. She was clearly still very shaken about the situation.

"I know Jesse. Don't sweat it." Cliff told him as he patted his back, "Hey Beca...are you ok sweetheart?"

"Yeah...I'll be ok." She said sniffling but never turning around, "I just need to get my son and go home."

"Jesse...take the rest of the day. Go home, be with your wife and son."

"Thanks Cliff."

"Anytime." Cliff said, "And Beca..."

"Yeah..."

"Congratulations. Jesse told me about the baby."

"Thanks." she said as Cliff walked out of the office.

* * *

><p>After Cliff walked out, Jesse stood behind Beca and wrapped his arms around her. The stood in silence until she calmed down. Beca went in Jesse's private bathroom to clean up. Jesse was right, Dylan couldn't see her like this and she needed to apologize to Cliff and the girls before she left. While she cleaned up, Jesse went to the conference room to collect Dylan and his things so they could go home. When Beca came out of the bathroom, Jesse was holding Dylan as the looked at the cars on the street below.<p>

"Hey gorgeous...you ready to go home?"

"Yeah but I need to apologize to Cliff and the girls first."

"You don't have to do that today."

"Yes, I do, Jesse."

"Ok."

Beca spoke to the girls and thanked Jayme for taking care of Dylan. She promised to come by the following week and take her to lunch as a thank you. Then she knocked on Cliff's door. "Come in." he bellowed not knowing it was Beca.

"Oh, hi Beca." he said as she walked in.

"Cliff," She said, "I just wanted to apologize for what happened out there."

"Don't be ridiculous. I've been looking for a reason to kick that ungrateful little tramp to the curb for a while now."

Beca chuckled, "I really am sorry."

"Don't be...I know what she said and she was out of line." He said, "But I have to say, Jayme told me what you told her and I had a hard time keeping a straight face."

"Yeah, about that..." Beca said as she played with her fingers.

Cliff got up from his chair and walked over to Beca, he put his hands on her shoulders, Beca, I've always admired your tenacity. Don't you dare say you're sorry for what happened. You defended yourself in a way few people could. When you walk out of here today, you walk out with your head held high."

"Thanks Cliff." she said as she hugged him. "I hope what happened doesn't ruin anything for Jesse."

"Jesse is fine. Not one iota of what happened with Tiffany reflects poorly on him. Jesse is an amazing composer, one of the best in the business. His work speaks for itself."

"Thank you Cliff."

"Now get outta here and enjoy the afternoon with your guys."

"I will...thanks."

"And Beca..." he called after her, "you take care of yourself, if you need _anything_, don't hesistate to call."

"Thanks, I appreciate that." she said smiling.


	3. Chapter 3

A week later, Beca and Jesse were in Debi's office for her 3 month visit and an ultrasound. When they arrived at the birthing center they were immediately greeted by Debi and Hope. Debi said Dylan was absolutely beautiful and that "he's growing like a weed." As they walked to the exam room, Debi asked, "Beca, so how have you been feeling?"

"The morning sickness is really, really bad this time." Beca admitted.

"Would you say it's worse than last time?" Beca looked at Jesse as she got on the scale and before she could answer he said, "Yes Debi…much worse. She has trouble holding anything down." Beca gasped as she looked at the scale…she had been so sick lately that she had lost 8 pounds in the last 6 weeks. "Beca, it's ok. I'll admit I'm a little concerned about your weight loss but we'll get you back where you need to be."

She had lost a few pounds in the first few months of her pregnancy with Dylan, but her morning sickness this time was more like all day sickness. Certain smells and foods turned her stomach and had her dashing for the nearest bathroom. As much as she tried to nothing seemed to stay down. Occasionally, she was able to hold down a piece of toast or a cup of yogurt but the was about it.

Dylan looked at Jesse, pointed to himself and said, "my turn" and started wiggling to get down. Jesse put him down so he could get on the scale. At 23 months old, he was extremely healthy, still a little on the small side but just like his mother, he could definitely hold his own. Beca and Jesse looked at the scale, Dylan was 18 pounds.

"Dylan you're 18 pounds...such a big boy!"

"I big boy. I big brudder." he said pointing to himself.

"Yes you are, now come on, let's follow Mommy." Jesse said as he took Dylan's hand so he could jump off the scale.

* * *

><p>When they got in the room, Jesse sat down and pulled Dylan into his lap so Debi could start the ultrasound. As Debi moved the wand over Beca's tiny baby bump, Dylan asked, "Why her do dat to Mommy?" They both looked at Dylan and grinned. Jesse told him, "Mrs. Debi's looking at the baby in Mommy's tummy." Dylan smiled, "Baby in dere." He said poking the bump. "Be gentle." Jesse told him as Beca took his tiny hand in hers and kissed it before Jesse took both of their hands in his.<p>

Debi had been telling them about everything she was seeing on the ultrasound, occasionally turning the screen so they could see. A few minutes later, she turned the screen back toward herself and got quiet. "Debi, is everything ok?" Beca asked.

"Oh, yeah…it's more than ok." She answered with a huge smile.

"What do you mean?" Jesse questioned. Debi was still smiling as she turned the screen back toward them. "Well, I know why Beca's been so sick."

"Debi, I know why I'm sick…I'm pregnant."

"Yes, you are…_very_ pregnant."

"By _very_ pregnant do you mean Beca is further along than we thought?" Jesse asked.

"No…she's right on target. 12 weeks 6 days."

"Then what are you talking about?" Beca asked.

Debi pointed at the screen and said, "Beca...you're having twins!"

"Twins…" Jesse said. "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive." Debi said, still pointing at the screen, "Look, there are two amniotic sacks. The babies are fraternal, which means they may or may not be the same sex." Beca started crying, her eyes stayed fixed on the screen. "Why Mommy cry?" Dylan asked Jesse as he tried reaching for Beca."

"Babe…are you ok?" Jesse asked as he wiped the tears from her cheek with his thumb. Debi could tell that Beca wasn't herself and said, "I'm going to step out of the room to give you some time."

"Thanks Debi." Jesse said never taking his eyes off Beca. Debi left the room and Jesse stood up next to the exam table trying to get a response out of Beca. "Babe…say something. Anything."

"Twins Jesse…TWINS!" she said sitting up, crying as she finally looked at him and took Dylan.

"I know…isn't it exciting?"

"I'm happy Jess, I really am…but seriously?! Twins?!" He stood so that he was in front of her. "It's all going to be ok…I promise." He said as he kissed her.

"What are we going to do with twins?"

"We'll be fine. We have plenty of room in our hearts, our life and our home."

"He's gonna hate me Jess." She said kissing Dylan's face as she cried.

"It'll be an adjustment, but he won't hate you…I promise."

"Why you cry Mommy?" Dylan asked as he wiped the tears from her cheeks like he saw his Daddy do. "I'm ok baby." She said as she hugged him. Debi knocked and stuck her head in, "Is everything ok?" Jesse turned, said they were fine and welcomed her back into the room.

Beca handed Dylan back to Jesse so that she could lay back down and Debi could finish the ultrasound. "Now Beca…your due date is still January 15th, but carrying two babies could be a real game changer."

"What do you mean?"

"Most women don't carry twins to 40 weeks. My guess is that you'll have these babies sometime between 34 and 38 weeks."

"Will the babies be ok if I deliver that early?"

"They'll be on the small side but we'll do everything we can to make sure they're healthy."

"I can still deliver at home, right?"

"As long as your pregnancy progresses normally and everything looks good then you absolutely can."

"Oh thank God…that makes me feel a lot better. I thought you were going to tell me that I would have to have a hospital delivery."

"You'll more than likely be put on bed rest at some point before the end of the year."

"I promise not to overdo it…please don't put me on bed rest."

"I'll do everything I can to keep that from happening, but you may need to look into getting some help during the day with Dylan." Beca looked at Jesse with defeat in her eyes. He squeezed her hand knowing that she was thinking about the loss of her independence.

"We'll speak to Beca's parents about helping us or if necessary we'll hire a nanny. One way or the other we'll do whatever it takes to keep Beca and the babies safe."

"That's good Jesse." Debi said, "Now Beca, you'll also need to significantly increase your caloric intake and I'd like you to supplement with smoothies and/or nutritional shakes between meals and you'll need to eat 5-6 small meals a day versus 3 larger meals. I want to get your weight back up."

"I'll make sure she's doing what she needs to." Jesse said.

"I'd also like for you to try eating Greek yogurt before bed. The protein helps with morning sickness. If it isn't any better in the next few days, I want you back in here." Debi insisted. "We can't have you losing any more weight."

"Ok...got it." Beca said, "Hopefully I won't need to see you until my next appointment though.

"Just to be sure, I'll clear my schedule and take the rest of the week off." Jesse said.

"Jess...you don't have to. I'll be fine." He gave a look that said 'don't argue' so she dropped it.

"Now, I'd like to see you every 4 weeks until October and then I'll get you to come in every 2 weeks. I'll even make house visits if that's easier." Debi made their next appointment and they made their way to their SUV in the parking lot.

* * *

><p>Jesse loaded Dylan into his car seat as Beca got into the passenger seat. They rode in silence for a while before Beca asked, "How are we going to tell our families?"<p>

"I have an idea." He said

"Go on…"

"Well Dylan has a guitar, a piano and a small set of drums. Let's set him up with one of the instruments and have the other two just sitting in the background. On a chalkboard we'll write, "Two new band members coming in January."

"Cute...I like that."

"Do you think Kenzie (for some reason I imagine Kenzie to look like Hayley from Paramore) has some time today?"

"I'll text her and she what she has on schedule today."

* * *

><p><em>"Hey Kenz…what do you have going on this afternoon?"<em>

_"Not too much. Whatcha got?"_

_ "Need some pictures taken of Dylan. You free around 2?"_

_ "Sure…bring him in."_

_ "Thanks…see you soon!"_

* * *

><p>"She's free at 2."<p>

"Great, let's run home, get everything we need and head that way."

Jesse put Dylan's instruments in the back of their SUV while Beca got Dylan changed and got ready to go. He was wearing a red t-shirt with black letter that read, "Big Brothers ROCK!" dark wash jeans and his black Chuck Taylors. When he was ready, they loaded up and drove to the studio. Kenzie and her assistant met them at the back door. Beca filled Kenzie in on Jesse's vision while the guys unloaded everything into the studio. Everything was set up in front of a brick wall that had graffiti all over it. Kenzie suggested adding a couple of microphones and stands to complete the look of a band.

Once the set up was complete, Beca put Dylan's sunglasses on as well as his baseball cap, which was on backwards. Kenzie started snapping pictures left and right. She took several of pictures of Dylan playing with each instrument and the final picture was one of him playing with the chalkboard and chalk. Kenzie downloaded all of the photographs onto a USB drive for Beca to take home.

* * *

><p>After Dylan was finished running around the studio entertaining everyone, Beca and Jesse took him upstairs to see Rod. She needed to let Rod know about the babies especially since they could be here before the end of the year.<p>

"Hey Rod!" Beca said.

"Hey you." He responded, "Where have you been all morning?" Beca whispered in Dylan's ear, "Go show Mr. Rod your new shirt." Then she put him down and he took off running straight to Rod. When Dylan was standing next to Rod he pointed to his shirt and said, "Looka my new shirt."

"Wow buddy! Very cool shirt." Then he looked at Beca and Jesse, "Congratulations!"

"Thanks." Beca and Jesse said in unison as Beca put Dylan back on her hip.

"So, how long do I have you for?"

"What do you mean?" Beca asked puzzled by his question.

"I'm assuming that you came in here to give your notice."

"Not a chance!" Beca said. "But...this pregnancy could have me on bed rest before I deliver."

"Why? Are you ok?"

Before Beca could answer, Dylan said, "Two babies in dere!" pointing to Beca's tiny bump. Beca and Jesse just laughed.

"Did I hear him right? Twins?" Rod asked shocked as he walked toward them.

"Yeah…I was more than a little shocked myself."

"Way to go Jesse!" Rod said high fiving Jesse. Beca just shook her head, she had a man-child for a husband and evidently her boss was one as well. "So…when are the munchkins due?"

"January 15, but our midwife thinks they'll come in December."

"Beca Swanson…I'm beginning to think that you'll do anything to avoid the holidays around here." Rod said jokingly.

"Rod you know me better than that. I give this job 110% whether I'm here every day or not."

"I know you do…I was totally kidding." He said, "I'm so happy for both of you."

"Thanks." Beca said.

"Just let me know what your schedule is going to be and if there's anything we need to do here to make things easier."

"I will…but right now we need to get this little one home." She said rubbing Dylan's back. He was starting to fall asleep on her shoulder. "See you Monday Rod."

"Have a good one…Enjoy!"

* * *

><p>"I can't believe he thought you were going to quit." Jesse said.<p>

"Well…I can't say I'm surprised. When I told him I was pregnant with Dylan he thought I was going to quit."

"Well, he mustn't know that he has superwoman working for him." Jesse said as he winked as her.

When they got home, Jesse put Dylan in his crib and then they took another look at the photographs before choosing the one they were going to send to everyone. Since Beca's parents and grandparents were coming over for dinner on Sunday they decided to wait until then to tell everyone.


	4. Chapter 4

Over the next few days, Jesse noticed that Beca was in sort of a fog. She wasn't depressed or withdrawn but her thoughts drifted often and she seemed to be daydreaming a lot. After bathing Dylan and reading his bedtime story, they put him to bed and went downstairs. Beca curled into Jesse's side on the couch while they watched TV.

"Hey babe…" Jesse said.

"Yeah"

"Is everything ok?"

"Yeah…why?"

"You seem a little distracted."

"Just thinking about how much our life is going to change when the babies come." She replied

"It'll be an adjustment, but we'll survive."

"_Two_ babies Jess…_two_ babies and a toddler. What were we thinking?"

"We didn't want Dylan to be an only child."

Standing up and pointing to her little bump she said, "Look at me Jess…how in the hell are two babies going to fit in here?" Looking her in the eye, he stood up and put his hands on her bump, "They already are, now…why don't you tell me what's really going on?"

She put her arms around his waist and her head on his chest before she confessed her real fears, "What if I end up in the hospital on bed rest? I can't bear to be away from you and Dylan for that long. What if I can't carry the babies even close to term and they end up in the NICU? I don't think I can handle seeing my babies sick and hooked up to machines, Jess…I just can't."

He kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back, "I don't think I can either but babe…let's not think about that right now. You lead a very healthy lifestyle. You eat healthy, exercise daily and you've already had one very healthy pregnancy."

"I don't know Jess. This feels different."

"Of course it does, you have two babies depending on you this time and I happen to know you're not gonna let them down."

"Thanks." She said as she covered her mouth and ran to the bathroom to throw up. Jesse wasn't far behind her. He sat right next to her holding her hair and rubbing her back. "See," he said, "this is a sign of a healthy pregnancy." He said with a wink. She got up to brush her teeth and wash her face. "I hope you're right and I hope for your sake that there's a girl in here because I'm not sure I can deal with you and three little Jesse's."

"I hope there's a girl in there too and I hope she has her Mommy's eyes." He said sweetly.

She kissed his cheek, took his hand and said, "Come on…let's go check on our baby and then go to bed." They walked upstairs to Dylan's room and peaked into his crib. He was sleeping soundly but they stood there just taking in the sight of their son. They both kissed him careful not to wake him before walking out and going to bed themselves.

* * *

><p>The next day started the same way the night before ended, with Beca slumped over the toilet throwing up. Jesse was trying to keep Dylan out of the bathroom but he was getting increasingly upset because he couldn't get to Beca. "Mommy! I want you! Mommy!" he cried as he banged on the bathroom door. "Bec…are you almost done? He's pissed!"<p>

"Yeah, you can let him in." she said as she finished up at the sink.

"Mommy…you ok?"

Picking him up she said, "Yeah…I'm ok."

"You throwed up."

Beca chuckled, "Yes baby, I threw up."

"You better now?"

"I'm all better now." Dylan hugged her tightly and scowled at Jesse then tucked his face into the crook of Beca's neck. He was definitely a Momma's boy.

"Hey buddy…you hungry?" Jesse asked as he rubbed Dylan's back. Dylan nodded, but Beca scolded him lightly, "Oh, no sir. Use your words and answer Daddy." Then she told Jesse to ask him again.

"Little man…you hungry?"

Beca pulled his hand from his mouth and whispered sternly, "Answer Daddy." They stood there for several minutes before Dylan finally gave in and said, "Daddy…I hungry." Beca said, "See…that wasn't so bad." As they all walked into the kitchen Beca strapped Dylan into his high chair and handed him a sippy cup with milk while Jesse got his cheerios and fruit.

"Babe, do you want something to eat?" he said putting the bowls of cheerios and fruit on Dylan's tray.

"Just dry toast and yogurt…my stomach is still really upset" as she put her head down on the table and rubbed her stomach, Jesse rubbed her shoulders and back.

Dylan pointed to himself and said, "Daddy, toast and yogurt please."

"Ok, buddy. Let me get Mommy's first then I'll get you some."

"Thank you."

"Good job Dylan. I love your manners." Beca praised. She tried to remember to praise him more than she scolded.

"Thank you." He smiled popping another cheerio in his mouth.

Shortly after breakfast Dylan went down for his morning nap. Jesse was in the studio putting the finishing touches on the photographs of Dylan while Beca prepared a pot roast, potatoes and vegetables for dinner. Her parents and grandparents would be there around 4pm to visit and have Sunday dinner. As much as she tried not to, she was getting anxious about giving everyone the news about the babies. She was more nervous this go round than the first time but this time she was carrying two babies and the stakes were a lot higher.

After she finished dinner preparations, Beca walked into the studio and handed the baby monitor to Jesse. "I'm gonna take a bath. Can you listen for Dylan? He'll be up in the next 45 minutes or so."

"Sure baby. You alright?"

"Yeah…just tired."

"Why don't you take a nap after your bath? I'll take Dylan to play with Colton for a bit."

"Thanks babe. Love you."

"Love you too."

* * *

><p>When Dylan woke up, Jesse went into his room where he found Dylan was all smiles. Jesse removed his pj's then changed his diaper before dressing him for the day. "Hey buddy…wanna go to Aunt Stacie's to play with Colton?"<p>

"I go Aunt 'Tacie's house."

"Ok…let's get your shoes on." Dylan sat down on his bedroom floor, Jesse put his shoes on and they headed downstairs. "Where Mommy go?" Dylan asked as he threw his hands in the air. "Mommy's taking a nap."

"Her night-night, Shhh!" he said putting his finger on his lip. Jesse laughed as he packed the diaper bag and got his sippy cup.

He left a note on the kitchen counter,

_"Hope you enjoyed your nap and you're feeling better. I took Dylan to play with Colton. _

_Call me when you wake up and we'll come home._

_Love you! XOXO"_

"Come on little man…let's go play." He picked Dylan up and headed out the door.

* * *

><p>When Stacie answered the door, Dylan jumped into her arms, "Aunt 'Tacie!"<p>

"Hey love bug! Wanna play with Colton?"

"Yes please." Dylan said as Stacie put him down. He took off running toward where Colton was playing on the floor. Stacie and Jesse followed him into the family room.

"Bryan! Jesse and Dylan just got here."

"Be there in a minute." Bryan responded.

"Jesse…make yourself at home. I'm going to get some clothes out of the dryer."

"Thanks Stace." Jesse said as he got on the floor with the boys, where they were playing with hot wheels cars.

* * *

><p>Bryan came downstairs a few minutes later and joined Jesse and the boys on the floor. They played with the cars for a while longer before the boys asked to watch a movie. Bryan put 'Toy Story' on and made popcorn. About half way through the movie, Bryan nudged Jesse, "Wanna shoot some hoops?"<p>

"Sure. Stacie do you mind keeping an eye on Dylan?"

"Not at all silly!" While the guys were outside, Stacie fed the boys lunch and promised that if they ate everything they could have ice cream for dessert.

About 30 minutes later Beca walked in the front door. "MOMMY!" Dylan said as he ran across the room and threw his arms around her legs. "You waked up!"

"Hi my love." She said scooping him up. "Are you having fun?"

"Yes. Aunt 'Tacie give me lunch and ice cream!"

"She did? Was it good?"

"Yummy in my tummy!" he said rubbing his belly.

"Where's Daddy?"

"Playin' ball si'side wiff Unk." Dylan said pointing to the back door.

"Did my husband just come over and dump my son on you so he could have a play date with your husband?" Beca asked Stacie.

Stacie laughed, "No, they played inside with the boys for a good while actually. They just went outside about a little bit ago."

"Those two and their bromance!" Beca said shaking her head.

"I know…but who are we to stand in their way?"

"Wonder if we should be jealous?" Beca joked.

"Nah...I'm pretty sure we're ok." Stacie said.

The girls continued to talk and visit for a while longer while the babies played and the big boys finished their basketball game. "Hey Stace…do you guys have plans for dinner tonight?"

"Not that I know of."

"My parents and grandparents are coming over around 4 to visit and have dinner. They'd love to see you guys."

"Sounds good. Can we bring anything?"

"Just yourselves." Beca said as she walked to the back door. "Jess…it's 1:30, we really need to go. Dylan needs a nap and my parents and grandparents will be at the house at 4."

"Ok." He said but continued to play ball.

Beca packed up Dylan's bag, got his cup, scooped him up and headed toward the front door. "So, we'll see you in a little bit?"

"We'll be there." Stacie said as she hugged Beca and Dylan.

"Stace…be sure to send my husband home when his play date is over."

Stacie laughed…"Will do!"


	5. Chapter 5

When Beca got home Dylan ran around chasing after Laney like a crazy person. When he got quiet, Beca looked up from the kitchen and noticed Dylan laying on the couch dozing off. "Come here baby."

"Mommy." he said reaching his arms up to be held.

"Let's put you down for a nap before everyone gets here." She said scooping him up and walking upstairs to his room. She heard Jesse walk in the front door as she closed Dylan's door. When she got downstairs she saw Jesse laying on the couch in the family room, "Get your stinky, sweaty ass off my leather couch!" she fussed. Jesse promptly jumped up from the couch like a scalded dog. "Go get in the shower…everyone will be here soon."

"Wanna join me?" he said winking.

"Go get showered." She said one hand on her hip and one pointing to the bathroom. Jesse sulked and Beca couldn't help but giggle as he moped all the way to the bathroom. She laid in bed to watch TV while Jesse showered. When Jesse got out of the shower he ran naked and wet into their room and jumped on the bed so he could straddle her.

"Oh my God Jesse! You're soaking wet!"

"Well hello Captain Obvious! I did just get out of the shower." He laughed.

"I know that! Why are you on the bed?"

He started kissing her neck and chest before saying, "My goal is to get you all wet too."

"Mmmm, well my clothes are usually off when that happens." She said running her fingers through his wet hair and kissing his neck.

"Oh…they will be when I'm done." He said as he started to remove her tank top and shorts. She just giggled and gave in, wasn't like she had any choice in the matter...not that she wanted one either.

* * *

><p>Beca's parents and grandparents arrived right at 4:00 and Stacie, Bryan and Colton weren't far behind. While the grandparents visited with the boys, Jesse and Bryan watched a baseball game on TV and Beca and Stacie finished dinner. When dinner was ready, Beca picked Dylan up to put him in his high chair and said "Come on, let's go get dry pants first."<p>

"I can take him." Sheila said.

"I've got it Mom, thanks." Beca said walking upstairs. She changed Dylan's diaper and put his "Big Brothers ROCK!" t-shirt on and got the gift bags with the framed photos of Dylan's 'band' before going back downstairs.

When she got to the bottom of the stairs, Jesse met her and whispered "my parents are chatting via skype with your family." Jesse took Dylan careful not to reveal his shirt too soon. Jesse walked over to the fireplace while Beca put the gift bags on the coffee table then adjusted the computer so his parents could see.

When she was standing next to Jesse, Beca whispered to Dylan, "time to show everyone your new shirt." Jesse put him down on the hearth, smoothed his shirt and said, "hey guys, Dylan has something to show you before you open your gifts" Everyone looked at Dylan as he pointed to his shirt and said, "Looka my new shirt! I be big brudder!"

Everyone looked up and was so excited. Beca's dad was grinning as he walked over to her to hug her. "Congratulations baby!"

"Beca, sweetheart…this is wonderful news! Congratulations!" Sheila said.

"Oh my gosh, this is wonderful news!" Jesse's mom and dad could be heard through the computer.

"Congratulations guys!" Stacie said as she hugged Beca.

Jesse asked his parents, "Do you have the gift we sent you?"

"Yes...it's right here. We've been dying to open it." Beca handed her parents, grandparents and Stacie each a gift bag.

Beca said, "Ok guys…since everyone has their gifts, what time is it Dylan?" Dylan grinned and said, "Open it!"

David looked at the picture then showed it to Sheila. "Oh My God Beca! TWINS!" Sheila screamed.

Jesse's mom squealed. "Oh my gosh...TWINS!"

"TWINS?!" Stacie squealed as she hugged Beca.

Beca said, "I hope you're ready for two new godbabies."

"Oh my God…YES! Yes we are!" Stacie said. "Bryan, two new godbabies!"

"Dude…twins?!" Bryan said shaking Jesse's hand. "That's awesome!"

"Thanks man."

Beca's grandparents were suffocating her with hugs. "Mamaw, Papaw…I can't breathe!"

"Oh sorry." They said in unison.

When they let her go, Beca saw Dylan leaning on the coffee table and talking to Jesse's parents on skype. She nudged Jesse so he could watch too.

Pointing to himself Dylan said, "I be big brudder." Jesse's parents laughed. Beca and Jesse joined to talk to his parents for a few minutes.

"Yes, you will be little man." Jesse's dad told him.

"Dylan, do you know how handsome you are?" Grace asked him.

"Yes, Mommy says dat to me all da time." They laughed again.

"Mom, are you and Dad coming in town for Dylan's birthday in a few weeks?" Jesse asked.

"Yes, we'll be there for 4 days. We'll arrive on Friday at Noon and leave on Monday at 3:00."

"Ok, sounds good. "Before we hang up with you we have something we need to say to all of you."

"Mommy, I hold you now" Dylan said as Beca stood up, which really meant that he wanted her to hold him. Beca scooped him up when she did, he pointed to her belly and said, "Two babies in dere." Again, everyone laughed. Dylan seemed to have inherited his daddy's sense of humor and timing.

Jesse wrapped his arm around Beca and Dylan, "Well…now that you all know about the babies, we have a favor to ask."

"Jess…whatever you guys need." Shelia said.

"We're very aware that at some point during this pregnancy Beca may be put on bed rest, we're going to do everything possible to keep that from happening, but if it does, we may need you all to help us with Dylan." Everyone started saying stuff like, "Just let us know what we can do." "Anything you need." "Call day or night." "We're all here for you."

It was very reassuring that their closest family was onboard and more than willing to help in any way that they could. Jesse's parents lived in Georgia and knew they couldn't be of much help but his mom offered to fly out to stay with them if they needed her to. She didn't want to miss the birth of the twins, especially since she missed Dylan's birth. She told them that she would plan to come out a few days before Christmas and stay as long as they needed after that.

* * *

><p>The twins were the topic of conversation at the dinner table. Names suggestions, gender predictions and bets on whether they would have Jesse's brown eyes or Beca's blue ones were going around the table. Of course, the dreaded "are you going back to work after the babies are born?" question came up. Beca shuddered. She hated being asked that question and did her best to pretend as though the question hadn't been asked. It made her feel like she was less of a mother because she chose to work.<p>

In no way did her career come before Jesse or her children, but she did enjoy working. And as much as she didn't want to admit it, if it ever came down to it, she would quit her job before sacrificing her marriage or her family. She was very lucky that her job allowed her to bring Dylan to work with her. She had a corner in her office set up just for Dylan. He had an ipad and a laptop for learning games and movies, toys, books and a love seat with a pull out bed. And her assistant Whitney, just loved playing and hanging out with him.

They tossed around the idea of hiring a nanny, but so far they hadn't had to because she and Jesse were able to work their schedules in such a way that one of them was always with Dylan. To date, Dylan had never attended day care and was extremely well adjusted, behaved, respectful and polite. That's not to say that he didn't have his fair share of tantrums, because like all 2 year olds, he had plenty of those but Beca and Jesse didn't acknowledge the tantrums. They found that if they walked away or ignored them, the tantrums didn't last as long as they did when they tried to reason with him. Besides which, they learned quickly there was no reasoning with a moody two year old.

Beca and Jesse took on the role of teacher early on and started working with Dylan on the alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes, animals and of course music and he was encouraged to be creative on all levels. Beca knew they were good parents despite the fact that they both worked which is why she cringed when asked if she was going to quit her job. She knew damn good and well that she could continue to juggle her family and her career and she wasn't going to be questioned by her family about it.


	6. Chapter 6

Beca's pregnancy was progressing well especially since they finally got her morning sickness under control. Unfortunately, she lost a total of 12 pounds and was down to a very tiny 98 pounds when she stopped getting violently sick several times a day. Now they were working to get her weight back up where it should be. The small bump she had at her 16 week visit seemed to be getting only slightly bigger now that she was feeling better but so far she couldn't see any real difference from her pregnancy with Dylan. She and Jesse decided that since everyone was coming over for Dylan's 2nd birthday party and she was no longer sick that they would tell everyone about the babies.

So far, only their family, Stacie, Bryan and their bosses knew she was pregnant. The last time she had seen everyone was three weeks earlier at Caroline's birthday party and she had only had the slightest hint of a bump so no one even noticed. Now it was unavoidable, they had to tell everyone and the best way to do that was to let Dylan do his thing. He would get to tell all his aunts, uncles and cousins that he was not only going to be a "big brudder" but also that "Mommy got two babies in dere."

Jesse wanted Dylan's party to be as simple as possible and took it upon himself to have food catered in. He ordered burger sliders, pizzas, salad, fresh veggies and fruit and of course a birthday cake and ice cream. Beca wanted to make the cake but he wanted her off her feet as much as possible so she gave in thinking it would just take too much time and energy to argue with him about it. She had learned to pick her battles with him and to his surprise this was one battle she just wasn't willing to go toe to toe with him on because ultimately they both wanted the same thing, for Dylan to have a memorable birthday.

* * *

><p>Jesse was thrilled that Beca agreed to throw a pool party for Dylan. It meant that he could run with the 'Finding Nemo' theme even though Beca told him that while she wasn't opposed to a Nemo party, Dylan should be the one to pick the theme. At the party supply store, Beca showed Dylan several different things from Cars to Spiderman to Mickey Mouse but of course, Jesse was bound and determined to get Nemo into the running.<p>

Jesse found a huge Nemo mylar balloon and had the girl at the balloon counter blow it up. When he found Beca and Dylan, he put the balloon in front of his face (like his did with the record covers at the radio station) and started making Nemo 'talk' to Dylan about how much he wanted to go home with them. Beca just stood there and shook her head while Jesse made an absolute fool out of himself in the middle of the store.

Of course, Dylan chose Nemo and they started picking out things they would need for the party. Beca argued that they didn't need every item with Nemo's face on it but Jesse argued just the opposite, "Dylan has to have a piñata…every kid on the planet gets a piñata for their birthday Bec!" By the end of the shopping trip, Dylan had to be carried through the store because the shopping cart was so full of party supplies.

* * *

><p>Dylan's pool party was finally here. Jesse and Dylan were already in the pool playing with Bryan and Colton. Dylan and Colton were thick as thieves and as inseparable as Jesse and Bryan. Beca watched from the patio as Jesse played in the pool with Dylan, the child had absolutely no fear, which scared the life out of her on an almost daily basis. They taught him to swim early on, so that when Jesse threw him around in the pool without swimmies he wouldn't be scared. Every time Jesse threw him, Dylan would swim to the surface and come up smiling. She loved seeing the two of them together.<p>

"They are so adorable together." Stacie said as she sat next to Beca.

"They're my entire life." Beca said. "I never knew what it would feel like to have my heart outside of body, but I look at Dylan and suddenly I know."

"I feel the same way about Colton." Stacie told her.

"Ok…" Beca said as she wiped her eyes, "no crying today."

"So, is today announcement day?"

"Yep…can't really put it off any longer." She said as she rubbed her bump.

"Are you doing some big reveal?"

"No, we're just going to let Dylan tell everyone."

"Still no idea about the genders?"

"No…Debi said because I haven't grown much and they're staying little that it's making it a little harder to see. I go back in 2 weeks for another ultrasound so hopefully we'll know something then."

"I can't wait to shop!" Stacie said excitedly, "I hope there's some pink in your future."

"Me too. I told Jesse there had better be a girl in here. I'm not sure I can handle Jesse and three of his mini-me's." She said chuckling.

* * *

><p>A few minutes later they heard the troops coming through the gate and into the backyard. Beca and Stacie immediately started helping the kids remove their cover-ups so they could get in the pool. Jesse, Bryan and the boys got out of the pool and made their way to the patio. Calling Beca over to where he was Jesse asked, "Do you want to let Dylan make the announcement now?"<p>

"Yeah sure, no sense in putting it off any longer." She said as she kissed Dylan's wet cheek. Jesse pulled Beca into his side then whispered something to Dylan; he giggled and said, "Ok Daddy!"

"Hey, e'rbody looka me!" Dylan said. When everyone turned to look at him, he said, "I a big brudder!" Everyone erupted into cheers and congratulations. Beca looked at Dylan and said, "And what else?" Pointing to Beca's bump he said, "Mommy got two babies in dere."

Chloe screamed, "TWINS?!"

"YES!" Amy yelled, "My chances of getting a baby named after me have just doubled!"

"You aren't showing so you mustn't be too far along." Aubrey said.

"I'm 18 weeks and I do have a bump…see." Beca said revealing her bump that was hidden by her cover-up. Lily, Jessica and Aubrey immediately started rubbing her bump and Benji high fived Jesse. "That's really exciting man!"

"18 weeks?!" Chloe screeched angrily, "Why haven't you said something before now?!"

"Because I've been really sick for most of this pregnancy and we wanted to make sure everything was ok first." Beca said.

"Do you mean morning sickness?" Aubrey asked.

"More like _all day_ sickness. I lost 12 pounds."

"Oh my God Beca...you don't have 12 pounds to lose!" Jessica said.

"I know... it was scary. I've managed to put about 3 pounds back on."

Lily hugged her and said, "Well, I glad you're feeling better."

"Thanks...me too."

"Can I call the babies minions?" Amy asked.

Beca chuckled, "No, you may not refer to my babies as minions."

"But the minions in 'Despicable Me' were so cute." Amy argued

Beca looked at Jesse and said, "Can you believe her?"

He laughed, "Well, the minions are cute and we do have cute babies."

"No minions." she reiterated.

* * *

><p>Jesse took Dylan from Beca and said, "Are you ready to get back in the pool?"<p>

"Uh huh!" Dylan said as he nodded. "Mommy come too."

"Ok baby, but we need to put more sunscreen on before we go in the pool." She tossed the sunscreen to Jesse then removed her cover-up to reveal a royal blue string bikini that looked adorable on her even though she had a bump.

"Shawshank…you have the cutest little prego belly. Are you sure there's really two babies in there?"

"Thanks Amy. I'll try to remember that in a couple of months when I look like Shamu and yes, there's definitely two in there." She put her hair in a messy bun and applied sun screen everywhere but her back. "Jess…I need some help with my back." She said as she picked Dylan up off his lap then sat down, putting Dylan on her lap. Jesse kissed her back and shoulders before he sprayed the sunscreen as Dylan ran off to play with the other kids.

Donald saw what he did and jokingly said, "Hey now…that's how you got those buns in that oven."

"Hey…at least I still get it. Uni when was the last time you got some?"

Uni hung his head and said, "a few months ago."

"How long is a few?" Donald asked.

"February...on our anniversary."

"Dude, that was 6 months ago!" Bryan yelled. "Hey babe…Caroline and Izzy are staying at our house tonight."

"Uni...you need to grow some balls dude." Donald said.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Wait just a minute!" Beca said throwing her hands in the air, "Why do people always say 'grow some balls'? Balls are weak and sensitive! If you wanna get tough, grow a damn a vagina!" she said motioning to her 'hunter' like Stacie did in college "These things really take a beating!"

"Babe!" Jesse said.

"What? It's true!"

"Amen sista!" Amy said high fiving Beca. While Stacie was doubled over from laughing so hard.

"Point taken Beca." Donald said,

Aubrey got testy..."I don't need any of you telling me how often we need to have sex. I have a busy career...when I get home I'm tired and I still have a lot to do, something's gotta give."

* * *

><p>Donald leaned over and whispered to Jesse, "This is going to get interesting."<p>

"Oh yeah!" he agreed.

* * *

><p>Amy said, "Aubs, your crumpet should not be what suffers."<p>

"Amy...that's easy for you to say. You live in a posh hotel with room service. You have no responsibilies."

"Aubrey, if you check out of your marriage, you can't expect to get room service." Beca told her as Stacie busted out laughing. So far, Beca had pointed to her hunter and referred to sex as room service, this day was going to be great!

* * *

><p>"Geez dude...there's no end to Beca's witt." Donald said.<p>

"Nope..." Jesse said.

"Funny shit!" Donald said.

"Always!"

* * *

><p>"I have responsibilities...I just don't let them get in the way of freaky time." Amy said.<p>

"Aubrey...Amy's right. You have to let loose, don't be so controlling." Beca said.

"Beca...how do you do it?"

"Jesse and I have always made time for each other...always."

"But how?"

"Aubrey, I can't believe I'm going to do this because I'm not one to talk about my sex life, but I will just this once." Beca said taking a deep breath and trying to get her thoughts in order she said, "Jesse and I both have a very busy careers but we have a very healthy, very active sex life as well."

"So, you have sex when you're pregnant?" Aubrey asked. Stacie, Lily and Jessica started snickering.

Beca rolled her eyes, "Yes Aubrey...I have sex when I'm pregnant."

"But you nursed Dylan for 18 months."

"Just because I chose to breastfeed my son for 18 months doesn't mean I took a vow of celebacy. We had sex the day Dylan was born." Aubrey made a face like she was disgusted. "Aubrey...you have to loosen up. Sex should be spontaneous and fun not scheduled and boring."

"I've always been schedule oriented." Aubrey said.

"Aubrey...you guys don't ever just have sex to have sex?" Beca asked

"No, usually just a couple of times here and there, if that." Aubrey confessed.

"Oh my God Aubrey!" Jesse screached. "We have sex a couple of times a day!"

"You have sex every day?" Aubrey asked. "Even on your period?"

"Ewe...no!" Beca said, "I didn't have a period the entire time I nursed Dylan. So we had 18 months of sex when we wanted, in addition to the 9 months I was pregnant."

* * *

><p>Uni looked at Jesse and said, "Damn...you're one lucky bastard!"<p>

Jesse grinned. "The luckiest. I still can't believe she's talking about this."

* * *

><p>"Yeah...I caught'em once." Donald said as he winked at Beca. "Jesse answered the door with that freshly fucked look."<p>

"You caught them?!" Aubrey asked.

Donald chuckled, "Well...they weren't in the act but they just finished a little afternoon delight, if ya know what I'm sayin'."

Beca blushed and shook her head. It was true, they had been caught.

* * *

><p>"The absolute longest we've gone without sex is the 6 weeks after Dylan was born and as soon as I got the all clear... I pounced!" Beca told Aubrey.<p>

"Longest 6 weeks of my life." Jesse mumbled.

"Aubrey, you have to stay focused and engaged in your marriage. Your career and your kids are great, but Uni will be standing next to you when your career is gone and your kids leave the nest." Beca told her.

"Beca, when did you get so...so wise?" Aubrey asked very sincerely.

Beca chuckled, "When I lost Jesse freshman year." Jesse tightened his grip on Beca and kissed her temple as Dylan climbed back in her lap. "This...right here in this chair, is my life. My entire life. And if that means sacarificing my job to keep it, then I will because my husband and my children mean more than a pay check. My pay check means absolutely nothing if I come home to an empty house. I've worked too damn hard for this to let it slip through my fingers in favor of my career."

"You're right...I did check out of my marriage in favor of my career. I need to check back in...if Uni will let me." Aubrey said looking like she could vomit at any moment.

"Aubrey...take some time off. Take a vacation. Spend time with Uni and the girls. You won't regret it, I promise." Beca told her. "We love you too much to lose you, Uni or the girls because your career came first."

"Aubrey...get that room service." Amy said as she gyrated with her hips.

"AMY!" Beca said as she hit her arm. "Stop it! The kids are right here!"

"Damn Shawshank...that's gonna leave a mark!"

"GOOD!" Beca yelled at her.

Uni walked over to Aubrey and kissed her. She didn't do PDA, the most she ever allowed Uni to do was hold her hand or lead her into a room by placing his hand on the small of her back but this was an exception. "Yeah baby...you can check back in."

Aubrey walked over to Beca and pulled her out of Jesse's lap, hugged her and Dylan, "Thank you! You're the best!"

"Anytime!" Beca said sitting back down in Jesse's lap.


	7. Chapter 7

They laughed and talked for a while longer before the kids started getting antsy to get in the pool. As Beca stood up and put Dylan on her hip she asked, "Jess…can you turn the stereo and surround sound on?"

"Yeah babe." Jesse kissed her forehead and turned to go in the house as she walked to the pool. She unlocked the gate and the kids burst through and jumped in. The party had officially started. When Jesse walked inside the house, he called downstairs for their parents to come outside, telling them "grandkids are here!"

After turning the stereo on, Jesse walked back outside and watched as Beca eased into the pool with Dylan. His entire world was within those two people and in that minute he couldn't imagine being any happier. He watched as Colton and Dallas went down the slide, Nick jumped off the waterfall and Caroline and Izzy were in the 'cave' under the waterfall playing with their dolls.

* * *

><p>When Jesse joined everyone in the pool, Dylan screamed "Daddy!" Beca let him go and he swam the 5 or so feet to Jesse. "Hey buddy…great swim." Jesse said scooping him up. Wiping the water from his face, Dylan said, "Thanks."<p>

"Hey babe." Beca said when she got to Jesse.

"Hey…" Jesse said as he kissed her "What's up with Chloe? Everyone else is in the pool."

"Don't really care but if I had to take a guess she's miffed because I didn't call her the minute I was finished peeing on the pregnancy test."

Jesse laughed, "Well, if she wants to pout that's fine but she isn't going to ruin Dylan's day."

"Exactly."

"Hey Josh...what's up with Chloe?" Jesse asked.

"She's upset because she feels left out. Stacie knew about the babies before she did."

"Not that I should have to defend or explain myself to anyone, but the reason Stacie and Bryan knew before all of you is because Bryan is my trainer. I had to tell him so he could adjust my workouts accordingly."

"Understood." Josh said. "I'll let her know.

"And like I said earlier, I was really sick and being that sick could have caused me to lose the babies. I don't pee on a stick and start making phone calls."

"I'll talk to her." Josh said, "Watch Nick for me?"

"Sure." Jesse said.

* * *

><p>Beca and Jesse sat on the steps in the pool while Dylan and Nick played near their feet. They talked amongst themselves, Dylan occasionally interrupted to show them a new trick or because he wanted them to watch him swim. Even though he knew how to swim, he also knew that he wasn't allowed to swim off unless one or both of them were watching him closely.<p>

"Daddy…I'm hungry." Dylan said after playing in the pool for over an hour.

"Hey Ma…can you call the caterer and find out when our order will be delivered?" Jesse asked

"Sure honey..." Grace said, "Where's the number?"

"Zoe's Catering...the business card is on the fridge."

Jesse kissed Dylan's forehead and said, "Grammy is going to call about your pizza now."

"Pizza?" he asked with a huge signature Swanson smile.

"Yeah…and burgers, salad, veggies and fruit."

"Yum!" Dylan said rubbing his tummy.

"Jess…It should be here any minute." Grace told him.

"Thanks Ma. Come on little man; let's get dried off so you can eat."

* * *

><p>Beca strapped Dylan into his high chair and put a bowl of salad in front of him while she started cutting his other food into bite size pieces. The boy had a very healthy appetite and ate anything that was put in front of him.<p>

"Beca...I can't believe Dylan eats salad." Grace said.

"So far, we have yet to find something he won't eat. If it doesn't crawl off his plate he'll eat it, and if it does crawl off, chances are he's going to chase it down and eat it too." Beca said as she gave Dylan a cup of juice then prepared a plate for herself.

"That's so wonderful. I love that he has such a healthy appetite."

"He really does...we're blessed."

* * *

><p>"Uncle Jesse...can we have juice pouches?" Caroline and Nicky asked.<p>

"Well...I don't have juice pouches."

Caroline crossed her arms and pouted just like her mother. It was scary how much she looked like Aubrey. "Why not?"

"Because Aunt Beca said they aren't good for us. So we have to drink juice boxes now." he told them as Beca looked on in amusement.

Much to Jesse's dismay, his beloved juice pouches were traded in for all organic juice boxes with no sugar added. Dylan and Colton had been drinking them and didn't seem to mind as much as Jesse did. He stopped complaining when Beca told him to compare the nutrition labels. When he realized the amount of junk that was in the beloved juice pouches he had been drinking for years, he gladly agreed to make the switch to organic juice boxes.

"Juice boxes?"

"Yes, would you like one?"

"Yes, please." Nicky said. Putting the straw into his juice box and taking a sip he said, "This is good. Better than juice pouches."

Caroline was still giving Jesse the stank eye and Beca was getting the biggest kick out it. She was definitely her mother's daughter, there was no denying that. Caroline eventually relented and said, "Uncle Jesse, I'd like a juice box please." He handed her a juice box and she opened it she said, "These are better than juice pouches." and ran outside.

"Told you." Beca said wiping Dylan's face.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." he said winking at her.

* * *

><p>Everyone seemed to really enjoy lunch. Beca enjoyed it because she didn't have to lift a finger. She made a mental note to thank Jesse later. After everyone ate, Dylan opened his presents. They had so many family members, birthdays looked more like Christmas. When Dylan finished unwrapping all of his gifts, Jesse asked him, "Do you want to see what Mommy and I got for you?"<p>

"Yes!" he answered excitedly. Beca picked him up and walked toward the garage. Jesse told him to cover his eyes while he got it.

When Jesse came back in the house, Beca said, "1, 2, 3...open up!" Dylan screamed "Thank you Mommy! Thank you Daddy!" then wiggled down so he could get to it. It was a Power Wheels Red Ferrari. Dylan saw it a few weeks earlier when they were in Toys R Us shopping for Caroline's birthday gift. He rode it in the store and had pitched and absolute fit when it was time to leave. Jesse, of course, went back the next day to buy it, Dylan was officially spoiled rotten.

* * *

><p>They let Dylan play with his car for a while before asking if he was ready for cake and ice cream. At the mention of cake and ice cream the kids went crazy. When Jesse brought it in the kitchen Beca's jaw dropped. He ordered a 3-tiered Nemo cake. He found out from his assistant Jayme, that Duff from the show "Ace of Cakes" had just opened a new bakery around the corner from his office. One day during his lunch break, he went to the bakery. He told Chef Duff what the theme was, how many people he was feeding and that Dylan loved marble cakes with chocolate fudge filling. Chef Duff sketched the cake for Jesse, and of course, he loved it.<p>

The cake was beautiful. Dylan's eye were wide as everyone sang 'Happy Birthday' to him. When Beca tried to help him blow out his candles, he said, "No Mommy, I got this!" He was really pleased with himself when he saw that he blew both candles out at the same time. "I'm good." he said causing everyone to laugh.

Donald chuckled, "Little dude is definitely Jesse's!" he said to Uni and Bryan, both nodded in agreement.

His eyes were huge when Jesse gave him the entire top tier of the cake. Everyone laughed when Dylan said, "For me?"

"For you and Mommy. Can you share?" Jesse told him

"Yes!" he said as Beca started cutting the cake in bite size pieces so he wouldn't choke.

Jesse, Aubrey and Stacie had formed a little assembly line in the kitchen. Jesse would put the cake on a plate, Aubrey was serving ice cream and Stacie made sure everyone had utensil and passed out the plates of cake. The kids were lined up by Amy and Lily on the floor so that any mess they made could be easily cleaned up.

* * *

><p>Chloe finally came around after Josh talked to her. She realized that she was being stupid. Beca was free to tell them what she wanted when she wanted and she had the right to be concerned about her pregnancy, so when she saw Beca walk into the studio she took the opportunity to apologize.<p>

"Beca...can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure...what's up?"

"I wanted to apologize for what happened earlier. I had no right to be angry."

"It's ok Chlo."

"No, I was selfish. You had good reason to wait before you said anything."

"Chloe...what's going on?" Beca knew something was up but she's not an intrusive person, she doesn't get in her friends faces and demand answers. She respects their personal space and wished that they would learn to respect hers.

"Nothing." Chloe said looking down at her hands.

"Ok, well... if you change your mind and want to talk about it, just let me know." Beca told her as she hugged her and walked out of the studio. Beca thought that maybe she had misread Chloe, maybe she really is ok. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was really wrong but she wasn't going to push her into talking when she clearly wasn't ready.

Beca rejoined the party just as everyone was headed back out to the pool. It was a gorgeous day and staying inside seemed to be a complete waste. The kids swam and played in the pool until they were suffiently water logged before getting out and eating again. After eating and watching a movie their friends started packing up to go home. As promised, Stacie and Bryan took Caroline and Izzy to their house for the night. Jesse could tell that Uni was anxious to get Aubrey home and even threw in a bottle of wine for their special night before sending them on their way.

* * *

><p>AN: I'm getting ready to throw some drama in...It's all been written, I promise. Stay tuned it's coming soon. Of course, there will always be fun, but thought it was time to kick things up a notch.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to PM me. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

gossipssweetlips: Thanks for always reviewing and being so sweet. ((HUGS))


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Last bit of fluff before the shit hits the fan. The next several chapters have been written, just tweaking some things before posting. Next chapter should be up by Saturday or Sunday at the latest. Happy reading. :)

* * *

><p>The next two weeks flew by and it was already time for Beca's 20 week visit with Debi. Beca officially made it to the halfway mark without any major issues, with the exception of horrible morning sickness and weight loss. She knew Debi would be pleased to find out that she had gained a few pounds since her last visit. While her bump still wasn't very big, it was definitely bigger than it was the last time she saw Debi.<p>

"So Beca, let's see if we can find out what the genders are today." Debi said as she squirted gel on Beca's bump. "I'm just going to check a few things out then we'll get to the important parts. Here we go."

Dylan was poking Beca's bump. He was a little more than slightly obsessed with it. He loved to feel the babies move and would talk and sing to them often. Every night before bed, he would lift Beca's shirt, kiss her bump and tell the babies that he loved them. If they were watching TV or laying in bed, his hand and sometimes his head rested on Beca's bump. One afternoon Laney got a little too overexcited and rambunctious when she came in from outside and she jumped up on Beca. Dylan promptly fussed at her by saying, "No, no Laney, bad girl" while he shook his finger at her and made his 'mean face'. So far, he was taking his role as protective big brother well, but only time would tell if he felt the same once they got here.

"Hey little man, remember be gentle." Jesse reminded him.

"I gentle Daddy." he said rubbing the side of Beca's bump.

Debi started the ultrasound by taking all sorts of measurements and documenting them in Beca's chart. When Dylan pointed to the ultrasound screen and asked "What's dat?" Debi giggled and started telling him all about the babies. She pointed to the screen to show him the babies hearts, their fingers and their toes. She also told Beca and Jesse that Baby A might be a thumb sucker. Dylan pointed to the screen and said, "Dey my babies." before pointing to himself. "Mine."

"Debi, about how big are the babies? Can you tell?" Jesse asked.

"Baby A is about 9 inches long and Baby B looks to be almost 8 inches long. That make them about the size of a banana."

"Dey like 'nanas Daddy?"

Jesse chuckled, "Yeah buddy, the babies like bananas."

"I do too." Dylan said. "Daddy...I want a snack." Jesse reached into the diaper bag and pulled out a banana and a cup of Cheerios. Dylan smiled as Jesse peeled the banana for him. Though Dylan told him not to peel all the way off because be liked to eat them 'like monkeys do.'

Debi continued to move the wand over Beca's bump, "Ok...so you're sure you want to know the genders right?" Debi asked.

"We're sure." Beca and Jesse both said.

"Ok...so, baby A is definitely a boy." Debi told them.

"And the other?" Beca asked.

"Well..." Debi said. "baby B is hiding behind the boy and I can't get a good view. I need to step out for just a minute. I'll be right back." Debi told them.

When Debi came back in the room still smiling and handed Beca a small gift bag. "what's this?"

"Just open it." Debi instructed.

Beca reached in the bag and pulled out the cutest baby sized black, red and leopard print hair bow on a black lace headband and a tiny pair of socks with lace trim. "Oh my God...It's a girl?!"

"It's a girl." Debi said.

"You're sure?"

"Positive."

"One of each!" Jesse said as he kissed Beca on her forehead. Dylan started clapping and said "YAY!" even though he had absolutely no clue what was going on.

"Thank you!"

"You are so very welcome." Debi told them. "Now, I want to see you back in 4 weeks."

"We'll be here." Beca said still smiling. After making their next appointment they headed home.

* * *

><p>Once they were in the car, Jesse said, "So, we're still going with Brody and Ava right?"<p>

Beca couldn't wipe the smile off her face, "Yes, Brody and Ava, but what would you say if we don't tell everyone that we know."

"I think that might be a hard secret to keep especially since we are having a girl."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because we'll need to buy girl stuff and because Mr. Parrot back there will spill the beans."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"I just love it when you say that!" Jesse said with a sideways grin.

Beca rolled her eyes. "Fine...we can tell everyone we have one of each on the way, but just like with Dylan, the names stay a secret until they're born."

"Deal."

* * *

><p>When they got home, Beca started shopping online for baby bedding and décor for the babies bedrooms. Just like they did with Dylan, the babies would sleep in their room for at least a year since their bedrooms were upstairs. Having the babies in their room was way more convenient than running up and down the stairs all night.<p>

When Jesse walked in the studio, he smiled knowing that Beca was shopping for the babies but more specifically Ava. They still had everything from Dylan to use for Brody but everything for Ava would be brand new. Of course, Brody would get lots of new things as well, but not nearly as much as Ava.

Beca was having a field day buying clothes for Ava. She even found a cute little sleeper as well as a dress that matched the hair bow and socks Debi gave them. Jesse was beginning to wonder if Beca's little online shopping spree would ever end, but knew it needed to be done especially since they really didn't know when the babies would actually come.

That night as they laid in bed Jesse was way too excited to sleep but Beca had been asleep for awhile. Jesse rubbed her bump and talked to the babies as she slept. Part of him wished she would wake up the other part of him knew she needed and deserved to sleep. He was so absolutely elated about the babies. They not only had another little boy on the way but they had a precious little girl on the way too. He always knew Dylan was a total Momma's boy and he couldn't wait to have a Daddy's girl. The babies weren't anywhere near close to being born yet, but Ava already had her Daddy wrapped tightly around her tiny little finger.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 - The Accident Part 1**

It was now two weeks before Thanksgiving and ten weeks before Beca's due date. She was still working and so far had been able to avoid bed rest by taking it easy and working from home as much as possible. So far, this particular morning had been an absolutely crazy one. They woke up late, Jesse had to get out of the house for a meeting about a new movie and Beca spent the morning running around the house after Dylan while trying to answer emails.

"Babe...I'm headed out." he called up the stairs as he shoved his lap top into his messenger bag.

"We're coming."

"Hey there little man, c'mere and gimme some kisses before I leave." Jesse said as he took Dylan from Beca. Jesse hugged and kissed Dylan until he giggled before he sat him on the couch. "I love you little man...take care of Mommy and the babies while I'm gone ok."

"Ok Daddy...I love you."

He kissed Beca and said, "I'll call you after my meeting, maybe we can do lunch."

"Sounds good. Drive safe."

"Always do. I Love you."

"Love you more." she kissed him again as he walked out the door. "Come on Dylan...time to eat." Beca sat Dylan in his booster seat at the table for breakfast. When they were finished, Beca was got Dylan dressed and told him, "We have to hurry. We're going to the park with Aunt Stacie and Colton."

"YAY! Let's go Mommy!"

"Ok, I'm coming." she said as she picked up his diaper bag and walked toward the garage to get his stroller.

* * *

><p>After enjoying play time at the park, Beca sat on the floor in the family room with Dylan putting puzzles together and playing with cars while they watched Mickey Mouse. It was getting close to lunchtime and she still hadn't heard from Jesse, which was odd. She thought his meeting might have run long but he should definitely be finished by this time. She couldn't shake the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. No matter how hard she tried to ignore it, it just wouldn't go away. When her phone finally rang, Dylan said, "I think dats Daddy."<p>

"Let's see." She said as she picked up the phone, but she already knew it wasn't him because it wasn't his ringtone. The sick feeling in the pit of her stomach was gurgling up and she began to shake. Her heart dropped a bit when she saw the caller ID. Jayme very rarely if ever called her. Something was definitely wrong and she suddenly felt like she was going to be sick.

"Hello."

"Hi Beca...it's Jayme."

"Hey Jayme."

"Beca, I don't mean to alarm you but Jesse didn't show up for the meeting this morning."

"What?!" She said immediately feeling like she was going to throw up.

"He didn't show up...no call, no show." Jayme told her. "Cliff is pissed."

"But he left hours ago." she said trying not to panic. **_"Where could he be?" she thought_**

"Well...he didn't make it here." Jayme reiterated.

"Have you tried calling him?"

"I did, several times. It went straight to voice mail every time."

Beca was starting to panic and she felt herself starting to hyperventilate. **_"Think Beca...think! Where could he be?!"_**

"So, you don't know where he is?" Jayme asked.

"NO!" Beca yelled. "Jayme, I'm sorry I shouldn't have yelled. I'm getting another call. I'll have to call you back." Beca said as she hung up on her. Beca saw the caller ID, this time it was Jesse and he had better have a damn good excuse for not showing up to work. "Jesse!" she said as she answered.

"Hello...is this Mrs. Swanson?" the caller asked.

"Yes. Who are you? Why do you have my husband's phone?"

"Mrs. Swanson, I'm Brooke with Cedars-Sinai Emergency Room. Your husband has been involved in an accident and was brought here for treatment."

"An accident?" Beca asked grabbing her stomach as she sat on the couch. Dylan crawled into her lap, "Mommy... I wanna talk to Daddy." Beca hugged Dylan tight. There was really no way to explain what happened so that he would understand. He was two and while he was extremely smart she wasn't sure he could comprehend it.

"Yes ma'am. He was involved in a car accident this morning."

"Umm...Ok, I...uhh...I have to make arrangements for my son then I'm on the way." She said as she hung up. She quickly packed a bag for Dylan and walked over to Stacie's. When Stacie opened the door she immediately knew something was wrong. There was fear in Beca's eyes. "Beca...what's wrong?"

Trying to hold it together as best she could, she took a deep breath and very calmly said, "Stace...I need you to watch Dylan. Jesse was in an accident on the way to work this morning & I need to get to Cedars-Sinai."

"GO!" Stacie said taking Dylan. "Call me when you know something."

"This is the number for Jesse's assistant. Her name is Jayme, I think you've met her...anyway, please call her and let her know what's going on." She kissed Dylan and said, "I love you baby. Be good for Aunt Stacie."

* * *

><p>As she drove she stopped at the red light where the accident occurred. Everything was still roped off and marked "Accident Investigation". Then she spotted what was left of Jesse's mangled BMW on the back of a wrecker truck. And was that Aubrey's Infinity? <strong><em>"Lock it up. Stay strong."<em>** she told herself.

When she arrived at the Emergency Room, she parked in an "Expectant Mother" parking space and walked as fast as her short legs would carry her pregnant body. When she got to the desk, she told the receptionist who she was and that she needed to speak to a nurse named Brooke. She had been walking back to the desk from another patient's room when she overheard Beca and made her way toward her so she could introduce herself. "Mrs. Swanson...I'm Brooke. I've been caring for your husband."

"Hi Brooke. Please tell me what happened."

"I don't have all of the details about the accident but your husband is in x-ray."

"How long will he be?"

"Shouldn't be too much longer."

"Brooke, please be honest me...how bad is it?"

"He's pretty banged up. He's unconscious, lots of cuts and bruises but we'll know more after the x-rays."

As Brooke was speaking to her, Beca saw Jesse being wheeled into a room. "Excuse me." Beca said walking around Brooke to get to Jesse. Once he was settled in his room, the nurses finally let her in. He was still unconscious and she wanted more than anything for him to open his eyes. "Jess...come on babe. Wake up for me please." she pleaded. She sat with him for a long while, holding his hand, stroking his cheek and praying that he would just wake the hell up. When his test results were in the ER doctor came to speak to her.

* * *

><p>"Mrs. Swanson?"<p>

Sniffling and wiping her face, "Yes."

"I'm Dr. Thomkins. I'm here to speak to you about your husband's injuries."

"Ok." One word answers seemed to be all she could manage at this point.

"Your husband sustained a blow to the left side of his head, which likely occurred during or shortly after impact. The good news is there is no swelling in, on or around his brain at this time, though we'll continue to monitor that while he's here. We'll also give you some information and warning signs to look for once he goes home."

"Ok."

"He has a lot of cuts and bruises as well as some deep tissue bruising and whiplash."

"Ok."

"Two of his left ribs are fractured, his left wrist is sprained and he has some swelling and fluid build up on his knees. The left knee is far worse than the right."

Finally able to get more than one word out at a time, she asked "Fluid on his knees...what does that mean?"

"His knees likely hit the dashboard at the time of the initial impact then bounced off one another as well as the console and the inside of the door with each additional impact. There is no permanent damage to his knees that we can see at this time. The fluid will go away with time."

Beca really wasn't processing much of what the doctor was telling her. "And when will he wake up?"

"It shouldn't be too much longer. Do you have any other questions?"

"No."

"Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No...thank you."

"Ok, if you need anything don't hesitate to call Brooke."

"Thank you."

* * *

><p>After Dr. Thompkins left the room, Beca quickly called to check on Dylan and gave Stacie an update on Jesse. Stacie assured her that Dylan was fine and if she needed anything to call. She put her phone down and sat on the bed next to Jesse. She kissed him gently as she took his hand in hers then placed it on the swell of her belly and said, "Jess...baby, it's time to wake up." She was willing him to wake up at this point. She couldn't stand to see him laying there any longer. "Come on babe...wake up please, we need you" she said as she continued to rub his hand on her bump. When he didn't respond she completely broke down. "Jess...please. Wake up...please baby, wake up!" she pleaded as she put her head on his chest, his hospital gown soaked with tears. She was exhausted and just wanted him to wake up so she could take him home.<p>

Brooke and Dr. Thomkins had been in and out of Jesse's room several times. They assured her that there was no medical reason why Jesse was still asleep and said that some patients just take longer the wake than others. They lowered his pain meds hoping that would help him to wake, but only time would tell. Beca begged them not to lower his medication because she didn't want him to be in any pain. Dr. Thomkins told her that if they lowered his pain meds it would stimulate him enough to wake up and that once he was awake they would make sure he wasn't in any pain. Now it was all up to Jesse.

After they left the room Beca broke down again. Then she remembered something. She recorded Dylan singing "Twinkle, Twinkle" just a few days before. She grabbed her phone to find the recording hoping that if he heard Dylan's voice he would wake up. "Jess.. listen. It's Dylan" she said putting the phone up by his ear, "he's singing just for you. Can you hear him? He wants you to wake up." She played the recording several more times and still nothing. He hadn't blinked, squeezed her hand or acknowledged that he had heard Dylan in any way. "Jess...it's up to you baby. Come on...You have to open your eyes. You have to wake up. Please, please...wake up."

* * *

><p>AN: This chapter as well as the ones that follow were difficult to write, but they're probably the chapters I'm most proud of. Sorry if I made you cry. Beware of the curve ball in the next chapter!

Let me know what you think. :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 - The Accident - Part 2**

Beca never left Jesse's side. She was scared if she did, he would wake up to an empty room; so she sat and watched as he slept. Brooke was in and out of the room every few minutes or so, checking on Jesse and making sure Beca was comfortable. She continued to assure Beca that Jesse would wake up though she was unsure when.

As soon as Brooke left the room, Beca again began to plead with Jesse to wake up. "Jess...please! I need you to wake up now. I know you're tired and you're in pain but we can't go home if you don't wake up." She cried and sobbed so much that she thought she was going to be sick. She needed him more than she needed oxygen and she couldn't go home without him because that meant sleeping in their big house alone and she'd have to explain to Dylan where he was. She was completely exhausted when she laid her head on Jesse's chest and finally allowed herself go to sleep.

She woke to Jesse gently rubbing her belly. "Hey." he whispered sleepily.

"Oh my God! You're awake!' She said sitting up and kissing his face.

"Hey baby."

"Babe...what happened?" she asked him.

"I'm still a little fuzzy, but I remember that I was driving to work."

"Do you remember anything else?"

"Yeah..." he said rubbing his forehead and trying to keep his eyes open, "Someone ran a light and hit me."

"Oh my God you do remember. I was so worried that you would wake up and not remember anything."

"Baby...I'm ok. I'm here." he said reaching up to take her face in his hands.

"I was just so scared."

"I know...I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault." she told him, "God help the son of a bitch that did this. If I find him I'll kill'em."

"Hey...let's let the police do their job ok?"

"I'm not making any promises."

* * *

><p>After visiting with each other for a few minutes, Beca finally called Brooke to let her know that Jesse was awake. She came in, checked his vitals and gave him something for the pain before telling them that she was going to call Dr. Thomkins with an update. A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Thinking it was Brooke or Dr. Thomkins, Beca said, "Come in." When she turned, she was surprised to see a well dressed detective walk into the room.<p>

"Hello Mr. & Mrs. Swanson. I'm Detective Stephen Drake. I was one the first responders on the scene of the accident."

"Hi. Please have a seat." Beca motioned to the chair next to the bed. Taking a seat, Detective Drake said, "Mr. Swanson, it's good to see you awake."

"It's good to be awake." He said squeezing Beca's hand.

"I wanted to come by to check on you and if you're feeling up to it, I'd like to let you know what we know so far."

Jesse shook his head, "Please...tell us what you know."

"Ok, so first of all, we know that you were traveling on Beverly Boulevard when your SUV was hit on the driver's side by two different vehicles simultaneously. Those vehicles were traveling at an extremely high rate of speed in the left and center lanes of North Highland. The impact of those vehicles then pushed your SUV sideways into another vehicle that was traveling along side of you in the center lane."

"Oh my God! Was anyone else hurt?" Beca asked.

"They were treated for minor injuries and released." Detective Drake said.

"Thank God." Jesse said.

"You were essentially sandwiched in your vehicle at that point by three vehicles and were in and out of consciousness. We couldn't immediately get to you to assess the severity of your condition and had to have the fire department cut you out of the vehicle."

"Oh my God." Beca said as she dropped her head into her hands. Jesse rubbed her back and motioned for Detective Drake to go on.

"We're actually surprised the accident wasn't a lot worse than it was. Mr. Swanson, you probably should have died on initial impact due to the speed alone."

"I'm not sure I can listen to anymore this." Beca said.

"Would you prefer that I leave?" Detective Drake asked. "We can do this another time."

"No...don't go." Jesse said, "Beca, we need to know what's going on." She nodded and Detective Drake went on.

"The individuals responsible for the initial crash, have also been treated for minor injuries and released into police custody. They've been brought downtown and booked."

"Booked? For what?" Beca asked.

"Driving under the influence, possession with intent to distribute illegally controlled substances, possession of stolen property, possession of stolen vehicles, one individual was driving with a suspended license, the other individual didn't have a license at all. Both also have outstanding drug and paraphernalia warrants as well." Detective Drake told them.

"Wow...real winners." Jesse said.

"So, both of the vehicles they were driving were stolen?" Beca asked.

"Yes ma'am. The individual that was driving the Infinity stole the vehicle from his sister. We had a BOLO out on it at the time of the accident."

"A BOLO?" Jesse asked.

"Be On Look Out." Jesse nodded indicating that he understood the acronym.

"The other vehicle was stolen as well. We are currently still trying to locate the owner of that vehicle."

"I think I recognized the Infinity." Beca told the Detective. Jesse gave her a puzzled look. "I had to drive past the accident scene to get here. I saw our BMW and the Infinity." she explained. "Does the Infinity belong to Michael and Aubrey Viruet?"

"Yes ma'am. How do you know the Viruet's?" Detective Drake asked.

"Well...that would explain why Aubrey has been blowing up your phone." Jesse said. "Kyle stole her car."

"Jesse and I attended college with them. They're really good friends of ours."

"Who was the driver of the other stolen vehicle?" Jesse asked.

"A Mr. Daniel Allen."

"WHAT?! You have got to be fucking kidding me right now?!" Beca screamed.

"I'm sorry...I don't follow." Detective Drake said puzzled by Beca's reaction.

Taking a deep breath, Jesse said, "We went to college with Mr. Allen as well."

"Ok...this has quickly turned into the strangest investigation I've ever been a part of." Detective Drake said. "It would appear from the evidence we've already collected as well as the witness statements, that Mr. Posen and Mr. Allen were drag racing down North Highland at the time the accident occurred. We received several calls prior to the accident regarding their erratic behavior and driving. We had units in route when the accident occurred."

"Fucking drag racing Jesse...drag racing!" Beca was fuming. "Kyle and Bumper better be thanking their lucky stars that I can't get my hands on them right now!"

The fear Jesse initially saw in Beca's eyes was quickly replaced with fury and rage. He knew he needed to keep her calm but he wasn't sure if it was even possible at that point. Over the years, he had seen Beca display every emotion known to mankind, but nothing could have ever prepared him for the fury and rage that filled the beautiful eyes that always looked at him and Dylan so lovingly. Of all the people driving the streets of Los Angeles this morning, why did it have to be those two?

"Babe, I need you to calm down." he said as he rubbed her back.

"Aren't you mad?"

"I'm more pissed off than a one legged man in an ass kicking contest, but right now, I really just need for you to stay calm."

"Jess..."

Looking her in the eye, and as sternly as he could he said, "Do you want to end up in this bed?"

"No." she said fiddling with her hands.

"Then I need for you to stay calm. It's still way too early for you to go into labor. The babies aren't ready."

"I know." She said wiping tears from her eyes. "I know."

"Mrs. Swanson, please know that we are doing everything we can to make sure that Mr. Posen doesn't get back out on the streets and do this or something worse to someone else."

"I appreciate that." Beca said sniffling.

"Now... Mr. Allen, is a bit of a different story. While we've had run-ins with him before, this is his first major offense but the charges against him this time are hefty. There's really no telling which way the judge will rule on this."

"What do you mean?" Jesse asked.

"Mr. Allen has had other offenses but nothing like this. The judge may decide to be lenient because it is his first major offense or the judge could look at his previous offenses and decide to throw the book at him."

"I'd like to throw more than a book at him." Beca growled.

"Babe...breathe." Jesse told her as he rubbed back.

"Mr. Swanson, it's quite alright. That's minor compared to some of the things I've heard."

"Stick around...I'm sure she'll start spouting off things you've never heard from such a sweet little person." Jesse said as Beca playfully smacked his arm.

"Oww!" he said. "No abusing the injured."

Detective Drake laughed, "Is there anything else I can do before I leave?"

"No, I think you've covered everything. Thank you." Jesse told him.

"Ok. Well, Mr. Swanson, I hope you get to feeling better real soon and Mrs. Swanson, take good care of those babies." he said as he handed Beca his business card.

"Thanks again Detective."

"Anytime."

* * *

><p>Detective Drake walked out and Beca laid her head on Jesse's chest, his left hand rested on her belly his right rubbing her back. Her phone was blowing up with calls and text messages that she didn't want to deal with at the moment. She just wanted to lay there in silence with her husband. Their parents knew that Jesse was ok and she had been checking in on Dylan so she didn't feel guilty about not answering the other phone calls. Brooke came in to check on Jesse several times before letting them know that Dr. Thomkins said there was no medical reason to keep Jesse and that unless he wanted to stay, he was being released to go home.<p>

While waiting for the discharge papers, Beca finally decided to check her phone. Damn! Word certainly traveled fast...all of their friends, with the exception of Chloe, were calling and texting for updates about Jesse. She thought it was odd that Chloe hadn't called and wondered what was going on with her. Aubrey called and texted the most, apologizing for her brother's actions. Beca couldn't deal with her right now though, her husband was in a hospital bed, her son was being cared for by his godparents and she was pregnant with twins...dealing with Aubrey wasn't very high on her list of priorities.

Aubrey's texts were getting more and more desperate and Beca could tell she was on the verge of vomiting. She reminded herself that according to what Detective Drake told them, Aubrey was just as much a victim as Jesse was. What puzzled her most was why Kyle was at Aubrey's to begin with. Uni had made it very clear that Kyle was not welcome in their home or near their girls. He said that if he ever found out that Aubrey let that happen he would leave her and take the girls with him. Kyle was the one and only thing that Uni took a stand with Aubrey on, he was pretty laid back about everything else. She knew Aubrey wouldn't risk losing her girls for Kyle. This had Beca wondering if Kyle had broken into their home as well. Maybe she should call Aubrey just touch base and find out if she was ok but she knew Jesse would be released soon, so she decided that she would send Aubrey a quick text so she would stop blowing up her phone.

_"Jesse is pretty banged up but ok. We're waiting for him to be released. Will call you once we're settled at home. XO"_

Things were already stressful between her and Aubrey and this certainly wasn't going to make things any better, because no matter how sorry Aubrey was, Kyle was still her flesh and blood, her loyalty was with him, not Jesse and Beca. This accident was going to put their friendship to the test, the biggest test so far. Sure, Aubrey drove Beca crazy but she loved her all the same, she loved Uni and the girls as well. Would this accident cause her to lose the ability to have a relationship with them? She couldn't stand for that to happen. Beca decided that she couldn't and wouldn't let it come to that. She had to keep the lines of communication open with Aubrey and Uni, now more than ever.

* * *

><p>AN: This is the last update until March 17th or so as I'll be out of town for 10 days and I'll be unable to post a new chapter. I will be able to read and respond to your reviews and PM's though, so please let me know what you think.


	11. Chapter 11

Jesse was asleep when Brooke brought the bag with his personal items in. When Brooke left the room, Beca immediately started to go through them items. She opened the bag and pulled his dress shirt and slacks out. As she looked at the blood on his clothes she cried quietly trying not to wake him. His clothes smelled of his body wash, cologne and fresh blood. He was safe now and he was with her, but she could just as easily have lost him and all because two losers decided to go for a joy ride while drunk and high. The realization that she could have been called to identify him and his belongings hit her. She hated thinking and feeling this way especially since he was there with her. She just had to continue telling herself to **_"pull it together and be strong for Jesse, he needs you now more than ever."_**

At the bottom of the bag was his wallet and a tiny clear bag. She never looked through his wallet but today she did. As she opened it she came across pictures of herself and Dylan, pictures of their family as well as a copy of the ultrasound that said "twins". Jesse even had one of her boudoir photos in his wallet, she just smiled; he really did like those photos.

In the tiny clear bag was Jesse's wedding ring. She held it in her hand remembering the last time she had held it; it was the day he became her husband. She put it on the index finger of her right hand and spun it around with her thumb as tears streamed down her cheeks. This man completely changed who she was. She was no longer the heartless, stone cold, no feelings Beca Bad-Ass. She was Beca the wife, the mother, the friend and she was full of heart and feelings and she couldn't think of anyone else she would rather be.

* * *

><p>When Jesse finally woke up, Beca was still crying as she clutched his bloodied shirt to her face. He wanted to sit up but he was sore and every bone in his body was aching and because of where the controls were for the bed he had a hard time reaching them. Since sitting up seemed to be impossible on his own, he simply said, "hey baby."<p>

Trying to stifle her sobs and dry her tears, she looked up at him. "Hey yourself."

"C'mere." he said patting the bed. Beca sat on the bed then laid her head on his chest careful not to come in contact with his broken ribs. He wrapped his arms around her and she breathed him in as she fisted his hospital gown. He still smelled of his cologne and home, her home, their home. Jesse opened her right hand and saw his wedding ring. She looked at him and said, "Not a scratch on it."

"Remember our vows, 'indestructible'." He said with a wink as Beca put his ring back on his finger where it belonged before pulling him into a bone crushing hug. She couldn't help but think of how close she was to losing the love of her life and the father of her babies. "I love you."

"I love you baby...so much it hurts." Jesse told her as he winced in pain.

"Oh God...I'm so sorry! Did I hurt you?"

"No...nothing you could ever do to me could hurt as bad as never being able to feel your arms around me again."

"I'll try not to hug so hard...I promise."

"Don't worry about it. That pain is minimal compared to being run over by a couple of cars." he said with a chuckle. Beca was not amused but realized that he was just being himself and trying to break the tension of the situation.

They laid in silence for a few minutes before Beca sat up and said, "You can't wear those clothes, they're ruined. I'll be right back."

Jesse had no idea where she was going or how long she would be gone, but it was in those moments that he finally allowed himself to process everything that had happened and to finally break down. So far, he had been able to stay strong for Beca but the reality was that he could have lost everything and that he had come so close to never meeting their unborn babies.

Beca was always so strong but he knew that if anything had happened to him she would have been lost, completely and totally lost. She would have had to go through the remainder of her pregnancy and childbirth alone. He would have left her with three children, babies really and she would have had to raise them alone. The pain and the thought of leaving her was just too much for him to bear. Kyle and Bumper did this and he was angry, he was furious and he wanted to punch someone or something because they had almost stolen his life, his family's future and their happiness.

* * *

><p>When she walked out of the room, Brooke watched as Beca leaned against the wall and allowed herself to slide down. Worried that something may be wrong, Brooke walked over to check on her. She squatted down next to Beca, took her wrist and immediately started checking her pulse before she asked, "Mrs. Swanson...is everything ok?" Beca was an emotional wreck and her hormones weren't helping anything.<p>

"Umm...yeah, I think so. I just need to take Jesse home and I need to hold my son." she sobbed as she rubbed her belly.

"Mr. Swanson's discharge papers have been signed. You can go whenever you're ready."

"Thank you, I really appreciate that but I can't take Jesse home in those clothes. They're ruined." she told Brooke. "I don't want to leave him to go home for clean ones."

"I'll go get you some scrubs and socks; be right back." Brooke rushed off in the direction of the ER's linen closet leaving Beca to her thoughts for a few minutes. As promised, she came back with clothes for Jesse. With Brooke's help, Beca stood up and entered Jesse's room.

Brooke stuck around to help Beca get Jesse dressed and ready to go home then called an orderly to bring a wheelchair so she could escort them out. She stayed with Jesse while Beca pulled their SUV around, then helped him into the front seat and buckled his seat belt. Beca walked around to ask Brooke to dispose of the clothes that Jesse was wearing when he was brought in. She didn't want any more reminders than necessary of the accident. They talked for a few more minutes before Beca hugged and thanked her for all of her help. Brooke wished them well and told Beca to call if they needed anything.

* * *

><p>Beca had spent most of the day either begging Jesse to wake up or watching him as he slept. She was drained physically and emotionally. She hadn't eaten anything since breakfast nor did she want anything. Brooke tried getting her to eat several times during the day even going so far as to have a tray brought into Jesse's room for her. Beca managed to drink the tea and keep it down but she wasn't hungry.<p>

They rode in silence for most of the way home before Beca called Stacie to let her know they were almost home. She heard Dylan in the background. "Is dat Mommy? I miss her." She had gotten better about leaving him but he hadn't really been away from her for very long periods of time especially during the day.

"Do you want to talk to him?" Stacie asked.

"Yeah...you can put him on."

When Beca heard Dylan say "Hi Mommy" she broke down. She had missed him so much and just wanted to snuggle him. She was pretty sure that she wouldn't let him go for awhile once she got home.

"Hi baby. Are you having fun at Aunt Stacie's house?" she asked while trying to hide the fact that she was crying and sniffling.

"Yes but I miss you."

"I love you and I miss you too."

"I love you Mommy." Dylan asked, "Mommy, where my Daddy?"

"He's right here. He can hear you."

"Dad-dee...I miss you."

"Hi little man. I miss you too." Jesse's voice cracked at the realization that he may never have heard Dylan's sweet little voice again.

"When you comin' home?"

"We're almost there buddy."

"Yay...Aunt 'Tacie, dey almost here!" Beca and Jesse laughed as Stacie got back on the phone. "Stace, can you have Bryan meet us at the house. I'm gonna need help getting Jesse out of the truck and into the house."

"Sure thing. I'll send him over now so he can let Laney out."

"Stace...I need one more thing."

"Sure, name it."

"Can you take Dylan aside and let him know that Jesse's hurt. You don't have to go into detail, I'll do that but Jesse's really banged up. I just really don't want Dylan to be scared."

"Sure, I'll take care of it."

"Thanks Stace. See you in a few minutes."

"No problem. See you when you get here."

* * *

><p>When they got home, Bryan helped Jesse out of the truck and settled on the couch just as Stacie and the boys came barreling in the house. Dylan ran right to Beca but he was a little taken aback when he saw Jesse.<p>

"Daddy got bad owie's." He said.

"Yeah, baby. Daddy has owie's. We have to be very gentle. Ok?"

"Ok Mommy." he said as he reached for Jesse. Beca carefully sat him in Jesse's lap and handed him the TV remote. Colton crawled up on the couch and snuggled into Jesse's side. Stacie told Beca that Dylan had already been fed, bathed and was ready for bed, which Beca was more than thankful for. She also told her that she had Bryan put dinner in the fridge for them.

Beca told Stacie and Bryan everything that happened while the boys sat with Jesse watching TV. Stacie's jaw dropped when she told them that Bumper and Kyle caused the accident. Then she realized the implications the accident could have on life as they all knew it. She also realized how this situation could affect Beca and her pregnancy and offered to help in any way she could, even if it was only to bring meals by or to take Dylan to the park for awhile. Beca thanked her and said she would definitely be calling if they needed anything.

After Stacie and Bryan left, Beca fixed herself and Jesse a plate and while Jesse ate, Beca just pushed the food around on her plate, occasionally taking a small bite here or there. It wasn't that the food wasn't good, because it was, it was just that she couldn't stomach anything. The thought of eating made her want to vomit.

* * *

><p>It was late when Beca finally got Jesse and Dylan snuggled in their bed. Typically they didn't let Dylan sleep in the bed with them but Jesse wanted him close. While she got herself ready for bed, she took a minute to text Aubrey. <em>"Hey, we're home from the hospital. Jesse's ok, but he's in a lot of pain. It's been a really long day, can I call you tomorrow?"<em>

She hoped that by sending the text Aubrey would back off just a little so that they could try to get some rest. She would definitely call her tomorrow to touch base about the accident, but mentally she just couldn't do it at the moment. She wasn't surprised when she got a text right back, _"Beca, I'm so sorry. Hope you can both get some rest. We'll talk tomorrow. Call if you need anything. Love you! XO"_

Well, that went better than expected she thought. Aubrey could be extremely pushy at times and she was just really glad this wasn't one of those times. She sent a quick text back _"Love you too! XO" _before carefully crawling in bed with Jesse and Dylan for the night. Nothing could have prepared her for what was to come.


	12. Chapter 12

Their night had been awful, Beca didn't get any sleep at all. Luckily, Dylan slept, but Jesse was extremely restless all night. When he did manage to sleep, he would thrash around, cry out in pain or call for Beca and Dylan. He was in a lot of pain and couldn't get comfortable. He would move from the bed, to the recliner, to the couch and back again and the pain meds didn't seem to be helping at all. He winced with every move he made and seeing him that way was killing Beca slowly. She hated seeing him like that and she hated that there was nothing she could do to help him or take the pain away. He did his best to try to mask his pain but Beca was able to see right through it; after all they knew each other better than they knew themselves. He was absolutely miserable and so was she.

As soon as she could, Beca called Jesse's doctor to ask for something else for the pain. The doctor said he would call something stronger in but told Beca that if this new medication didn't work she needed to bring him in for additional x-rays and tests because the ER doctor may have missed something.

Since she wasn't comfortable leaving Jesse alone to go to the pharmacy, she asked Stacie if she would pick up the new prescription and a few other things they needed. Stacie jumped at the chance to help, especially since she knew Beca didn't ask for help often. She was such a doll…Beca really didn't know what she would do without her.

When Stacie got back she offered to take Dylan off their hands for a little while so Beca could call Aubrey, tend to Jesse and possibly even take a much needed and deserved nap. Beca welcomed the break, she was exhausted and not really looking forward to calling Aubrey though she knew it needed to be done. Dylan was at Stacie's for a play date with Colton and Jesse was lying on the couch waiting for his pain meds to kick in. Now was as good a time as any to call Aubrey. Beca went out on the patio, took a deep breath and dialed the number.

* * *

><p>"Hey Beca." Aubrey answered.<p>

"Hey…sorry I didn't get to call you yesterday. It was a long day and an even longer night."

"Beca…I'm so sorry about what happened. Is Jesse ok?"

"He will be but right now he's in a lot of pain. We had to get a new pain medication this morning because the other pains meds just weren't working."

"Beca is there anything I can do?"

"Yeah, please tell me what the hell happened?"

"Ok." Taking a deep breath, Aubrey said, "We haven't seen Kyle in a couple of years, last I heard he was in South Carolina. I had no idea he was in LA or that he even knew where I lived. I found out last night when I talked to my mom that he was supposed to be in a rehab facility out here. Evidently either he didn't go or he left against medical advice. Anyway, Mom swears she didn't tell him our address and it isn't listed, so I'm not sure how he found out. The only thing we've been able to figure is that he followed one of us home."

Aubrey took another deep breath and continued. "Around 6:30 yesterday morning, Uni was getting ready to go to the gym when he heard a loud crash in the garage. When he got out there, he noticed that my car was gone, the side window in the garage was broken as was the garage door." Beca listened quietly as Aubrey continued on. "We called the police and they put out a BOLO on my car. An hour or so later, we were told that a call went out over the radio about a vehicle matching the description of my car. It was seen drag racing down North Highland. There were two different police units dispatched but they couldn't catch up with Kyle, that's when the accident occurred."

Beca remained quiet. She was trying to process everything Aubrey had told her.

"Beca…are you still there?"

Taking a deep breath, "Yeah, I'm here. I'm just trying to wrap my mind around everything."

"Beca…I'm so sorry."

"You do know that Bumper was also involved right?"

"Oh my God! No...I had no idea! Are you serious?!"

"Yes. Evidently he and Kyle are pretty good friends."

After a long silence, Aubrey said, "I wish I knew what to say."

"Don't worry about it. There's not much that can be said. What's done is done." Beca told her. "Are you, Uni and the girls ok?"

"Yeah, we are. What we're dealing with is nothing compared to you and Jesse. What did the doctor say?"

Beca took a deep breath, "He was sandwiched in the BMW and had to be cut out before the paramedics could assess his condition. The ER doctor told me that he sustained a minor blow to the left side of his head but there's no swelling in his brain so that's good. He is covered head to toe with cuts and bruises. He has whiplash, 2 fractured ribs, his left wrist is sprained and he has swelling and fluid on both of his knees."

"Oh Beca!" Aubrey said, "Is he really gonna be ok?"

"He looks pretty bad and can hardly move around. He can't do anything on his own right now, but he's gonna be ok."

"Beca, I really am so sorry. Be sure to send us all of his medical bills. I'll take care of everything I promise."

"Aubrey, it's not about the money, we can afford the bills. It's about Kyle; he's your brother. Where does this leave our friendship?"

"I'm a victim in this too Beca. I couldn't careless about what he's done to me but I want to see him punished for what he's done to Jesse."

"I know you're a victim Aubrey, but he is and will always be your blood. Jesse and I are just friends."

"Just because he's my brother that doesn't mean I'm going to jump to his defense. He was and is wrong. And for the record, you and Jesse are more than just our friends, you're our family. We love you."

Beca was crying uncontrolably by this point; damn her pregnancy hormones and lack of sleep. Aubrey said everything she hoped to hear and having her in their corner meant a lot. "We love you too Aubrey." Beca said softly. "I really hate to do this but I have a favor to ask."

"Anything, anything at all."

"We're going to need a good attorney, the best money can buy. Can you recommend someone?"

"I've already taken care of that for you. I called a colleague of mine. His name is Brendan Brooks; we went to law school together. He's amazing."

"Oh my God Aubrey…thank you."

"It was the least I could do, given what happened."

"Beca!" Jesse called.

"Just a minute Jess." She called back. "Hey Aub, I almost forgot, have you heard from Chloe lately?"

"No, I haven't. I've called, texted, emailed and I haven't gotten any response from her. It's really kind of weird."

"Same here. I heard from everyone yesterday with the exception of Chloe and Josh."

"BECA!" Jesse hollered.

"Ok Jess...I'm coming!" Beca hollered back. "Aubrey…I really hate to cut this short but Jesse's calling me."

"It's ok Beca. I'm really glad he's ok and I'm glad we're ok too. Give Jesse our love. When he's feeling better we'd like to visit."

"Sure…just call us first. Last night was awful and I'm sure the nights will get worse before they get better." Beca said.

"We will…Promise."

"Love you Aubrey."

"Love you too."

* * *

><p>Beca went inside to check on Jesse. He was still on the couch, holding his ribs and trying to get up but couldn't. "Babe, hurry…I have to go to the bathroom and I can't get up." She helped him up and followed to make sure he didn't lose his balance. He was walking like an 80 year old man due to the swelling in his knees. His legs and back were stiff and the simple task of breathing made his fractured ribs ache. By the time they got to the bathroom door, he was out of breath and looking for a place to sit down. Living in a big house was great until you became injured then it became more of an obstacle.<p>

When they got back to the family room, Jesse was completely wiped out. Just walking for those few minutes was enough to exhaust him. Beca adjusted his pillows and brought him lunch before going over to Stacie's to get Dylan. When she got there, she was nearly tackled by the boys as they met her at the door. They were both so excited to see her; when she got down on their level they both showered her with hugs and kisses. They were just what she needed.

Stacie asked about her call with Aubrey and whether everything between them would be ok. Beca assured her that everything was fine and that Aubrey had even taken care of retaining an attorney for them. After talking for a while longer, Beca reminded Stacie that Jesse was home alone and she needed to get back. She thanked Stacie and Bryan for watching Dylan and as she was walking out, Stacie told her they would bring dinner by later and help with anything else they needed.

* * *

><p>"Did you have fun at Aunt Stacie's house?" Beca asked Dylan.<p>

"Yeah…I play wiff Colt." Dylan said as he kicked a rock.

"And what else?"

"Unk taked us si'side to play ball."

"He did?"

"Yeah and Aunt 'Tacie give me juice wiff lunch." He said bending down to grab the rock he had been kicking.

"What did you eat?"

"Turkey and carrots and celery wiff ranch dip."

"Yum…did you eat it all?"

Dylan threw the rock and said "Yeah…cheese and grapes too."

"Wow…good job my man." Beca said. "Let's go inside and check on Daddy?"

"Yeah...Daddy got owie's dat hurt real bad." Dylan said as they walked in the house.

* * *

><p>Jesse was asleep on the couch which meant that either his meds were finally working or he had passed out from the pain. Beca wasn't sure which it was but she was glad to see him finally resting somewhat peacefully. While she adjusted his blanket, Dylan kissed Jesse on the cheek and said, "Nite, nite Daddy."<p>

A few minutes later, Beca and Dylan snuggled in the recliner and watched Mickey Mouse. She hated letting him watch so much television but she was really in no mood or condition to be running after him all afternoon. She was tired after their rough night and she just wanted a nap. It wasn't long before they were all asleep…that was until Beca was startled awake by Jesse's moans and thrashing around. She quickly got up and moved Dylan to their bed before trying to tend to Jesse.

* * *

><p>There was fear on his face as he continued to moan. He was calling Beca and Dylan in his sleep. "Baby, I'm right here." She said kissing him on the forehead as she kneeled down next to the couch. She tried to wake him by lightly shaking him but that didn't work. In fact, he seemed to be getting more and more agitated. She quietly called his name and stroked his cheek but he wouldn't respond. She tried sitting on the couch and rubbing his arm to calm him and was shocked when he punched her in the arm. She knew he didn't mean it, he didn't know what he was doing, but it hurt and left a big red mark on her arm that was sure to bruise. He continued to call for her and Dylan, tears running down his face. As she rubbed her arm she said, "Jess…baby, wake up. It's me…I'm here." He wouldn't wake up, he seemed to be getting further and further away and she didn't know what to do. He had done the same thing the night before and she hadn't been able to get him to wake up then either.<p>

Beca was not one to give up or give in but this situation made her feel defeated. Jesse needed her and there was nothing she could do to help him. So she curled up in the recliner and cried watching helplessly as Jesse's nightmare went on for another few minutes before he finally settled down. As his body calmed, she wondered if he was dreaming about the accident or being trapped in the car. She sobbed as she realized how scared he must have been in those moments right after the accident. The paramedics couldn't get to him right away because he was trapped; they had to wait for the fire department to cut him out of the car. She was told that he had been in and out of consciousness while they were working to get him out of the car and that during that time he would cry out for her and Dylan.

An hour had passed and Beca was still wide awake watching Jesse. He was starting to move around again but she didn't dare go near him for fear that he would hit her again. Luckily this time, he was waking up not having another bad dream. As he opened his eyes he saw her watching him. "Hey babe, did you get to nap?"

She looked right at him and for the first time since their freshman year of college, she lied to him. "I did. How did you sleep?"

"I slept ok. I still feel really tired though."

"You can go back to sleep but you're due for another pain pill." She said as she got up to get him a fresh glass of water. As she placed the glass of water and a snack on the coffee table, Jesse noticed the mark on her arm.

"Babe…what happened to your arm?"

"Oh…I think I bumped it on the door frame when I helped you to the bathroom earlier." She lied again. She couldn't believe that this accident had caused her to revert back to who she was in college. She told herself that she should just tell him what happened but she didn't want him to feel bad, he felt bad enough and he didn't need the burden of what happened in his sleep to affect his recovery.

"Are you ok? It looks like it hurts."

She rubbed her arm remembering what happened, "Yeah, I'm fine. It's nothing compared to what you're going through."

"Mommy!" Dylan called from the other room. "I waked up!"

"I'm going to go get him. I'll be right back." Jesse grabbed her hand and pulled her down toward him for a kiss. He kissed her so gently then he kissed her arm where the bruise had already started to form. "I love you baby."

"I love you too. I'll be right back."

* * *

><p>Beca changed Dylan's diaper then sent him into the family room to sit with Jesse. When Dylan was out of the room, she went into their bathroom and looked at the bruise in the mirror. She was so mad at herself for lying to Jesse. It would have been so easy to just tell him the truth but she just couldn't do that to him. He was already suffering so much and with any luck at all, it wouldn't happen again. She told herself that she would just have to be more careful if he had another nightmare. She changed her shirt so that Stacie and Bryan wouldn't see the bruise when they brought dinner over; she really didn't need or want to explain what happened.<p>

The rest of the afternoon was pretty uneventful. They watched a movie with Dylan and Jesse fell asleep again. Once he fell asleep, she was careful to keep Dylan away from him in the event that he had another nightmare. Luckily, he hadn't had one which she was really thankful for because she didn't want Dylan to be scared or upset.

When Jesse woke up Dylan carefully crawled into his lap with the ipad and said, "Daddy, play a game wiff me."

"Ok, buddy…what are we playing?"

"Dis one." He said pointing to one of the apps Beca downloaded for him.

"Ooo, this is a good one."

"Yeah...a good one." he said parroting Jesse.

They sat playing the game while Beca folded laundry. It wasn't long before Stacie and Bryan arrived with dinner. The boys played for a few minutes before they all sat down to eat. During dinner they all talked but Stacie noticed that Beca wasn't eating a whole lot and she was exceptionally quiet. She figured it was because she was tired but decided to let it go. Beca would come to her if she wanted to talk about anything.

Beca knew by the look on Stacie's face that she knew something was wrong. She felt that if she couldn't talk to Jesse about what was going on, then she certainly wasn't going to bring anyone else into what was going on and she didn't want to embarrass Jesse. No one needed to know about his nightmares or what happened when he had them. What happens behind closed doors stays behind closed doors.


	13. Chapter 13

Thanksgiving was in a few days and because taking care of Jesse, Dylan and herself had become extremely taxing, Beca decided to cancel Thanksgiving dinner at their house. Their friends were disappointed but completely understood why she cancelled. Because Jesse's parents already purchased their plane tickets, they came in town for the holiday. That meant that Thanksgiving would be spent with just their parents and Beca's grandparents, which would be a nice change of pace and Beca welcomed the extra help, though she worried that someone would find out about Jesse's nightmares.

Grace had been staying in touch and checking in with Beca about his progress. Occasionally she would get to talk to Jesse if she happened to call when he was awake and feeling well enough to talk. When Beca's parents arrived at the airport to pick up Grace and Bill, they invited them to stay at their house during their visit. Thankfully they accepted since Beca had too much going on and wasn't really up for house guests. Grace was anxious to see Jesse with her own eyes but nothing could have prepared her for what she saw.

Jesse was still very banged up, bruised and extremely sore. He literally looked like someone had beaten the shit out of him in a street fight. He hadn't shaved in weeks and his face was really scruffy which surprisingly Beca didn't seem to mind but Grace did. His muscles were still very tight and all he wanted to do was sleep. His days were spent on the couch or in bed. He rarely even got up to eat; Beca brought most of his meals to him wherever he was at the time. The rest of his time was spent sleeping and occasionally watching a little TV or a movie but even he broke his own rule and fell asleep while trying to watch. Since his accident, he had yet to make it through an entire movie; he was usually out like a light within 15-20 minutes of the movie starting.

Since the accident, her parents, as well as Stacie and Bryan had been helping during the day and into the evening when they could, though Beca started to refuse their help when she started getting more and more bruises from trying to deal with Jesse's nightmares. Beca was very thankful for the offers of help but she couldn't let anyone see her like this. She wasn't helpless, but she was definitely feeling that way. No knew what her nights were like...not even Jesse.

* * *

><p>When Jesse woke from an evening nap the house was eerily quiet. He called for Beca but there was no answer. Carefully pulling himself up off the couch, he hobbled to their bedroom.<p>

"_**Maybe she's asleep."**_ he thought. But the room was dark and the bed was still made. "**_Where could she be?"_**

He walked back out to the family room, still no sign of her. He decided to check Dylan's room; maybe she was up there and couldn't hear him when he called. Going upstairs was not an easy feat for him in his condition, it took forever and it was extremely painful. Upstairs was just as dark as downstairs. He peeked in on Dylan, who was fast asleep, but still no Beca. He quietly closed the door and went back downstairs to check the studio. Perhaps she was taking advantage of the quiet by getting some work done, something she hadn't really been able to do in the last several weeks. But the studio was dark and she wasn't there and he was starting to get concerned.

**_"Where is she?" _**He noticed her purse and keys hanging on the hook in the mudroom so he knew she had to be in the house, or the near vicinity somewhere.

As he walked back through the kitchen, he saw her tiny form on the back patio. He grabbed the blanket he had been using from the couch and took it outside. When he opened the door she didn't look up. "Hey baby." He said kissing the top of her head as he wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. He noticed that she flinched when he kissed her but thought that it was probably because he startled her.

"Hey" she said very flatly, never making eye contact with him.

He knew she had been crying, but had no idea why. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm fine." She said using the sleeve of her hoodie to wipe the tears from her face.

"Clearly you're not. What's going on?" She gave no answer nor did she acknowledge that he'd spoken. She just continued staring out into the yard watching Laney run around. Minutes passed before he said, "Beca, please don't shut me out. We're so far past this." Several more minutes passed and still nothing. No emotion, no words, just silence… painful silence. "Babe please…tell me what's wrong. Is it the babies?"

"DAMNIT JESSE! JUST LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!" she yelled as she got up leaving the blanket on the chair and storming inside.

Jesse was stunned. He knew there was something wrong but he couldn't put his finger on it. Something was definitely off. She was always attentive, loving and warm but when she wasn't busy taking care of him or Dylan she seemed distant, quiet and cold. **_"What's going on with her? What the hell just happened?"_**

He sat outside pondering what had just taken place and tried to think if he had said or done something to make her angry. The only thing he could think of was the accident but that hadn't been his fault. Surely she wasn't holding that against him. He hadn't been helping around the house at all lately because of his injuries; that must be it he thought. She was tired and overwhelmed, she was pregnant with twins and running after a 2 year old and taking care of him…that definitely had to be it. But why hadn't she asked for help? Her parents and Stacie were helping as much as she would let them but lately she wouldn't accept their help, she wouldn't let anyone visit and he often wondered what that was about. He decided to give her a few minutes to herself then he would try talking to her again.

* * *

><p>When he went back inside, he could see light from her bedside lamp spilling out of their bedroom and into the hall. She was standing next to their bed folding a load of laundry when he hobbled to the doorway of their bedroom. "Can I come in?" he asked as he knocked on the door.<p>

"Yeah" she said without looking up, still no sign of any kind of emotion in her voice.

"Are you ready to tell me what's wrong?"

"I'm tired."

"Let's go to bed."

"No, I don't feel like it."

"But you just said you were tired." he said with a puzzled look on his face.

"Damnit Jesse! I said NO!"

Jesse was confused and unsure about what was going on. Standing behind her, he tried to wrap his arms around her and she pushed him away. "DAMNIT JESSE! JUST GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME! DON'T TOUCH ME!"

"Ok...I'm sorry." he said with hurt in his voice, his hands raised in surrender. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing! I'm fine!" she said raising her voice a bit.

"YOU'RE NOT FINE! TALK TO ME GOD DAMNIT!" he raised his voice which cause her to jump. He turned her around so she was facing him. Ok...something was definitely wrong. They had arguments before with their voices raised and she never jumped or flinched. Now she didn't want him to touch her and she jumped at the sound of his raised voice.

When he reached up to wipe the tears off her cheeks she flinched and turned away. "Baby, what's wrong?" Seeing her like this was like a knife to his heart. They stood in silence for several minutes as she continued to cry. She suddenly lost all of her resolve, fisted his t-shirt and pulled him closer so that she could put her head on his chest, before saying, "You have no idea what it's been like."

"Well...tell me. I want to know."

"No Jess...trust me, you don't want to know."

Making her look her him, he said his voice still raised and very firm, "Yes, I do...I wouldn't have asked if I didn't!" He watched as she jumped again and thought to himself... _**"E****verytime I yell she jumps and every time I try to touch her she flinches. What the hell is going on with her?"** _After standing there in silence for several minutes, he asked "What in the hell is going on Beca?"

"Fine! I give up! I just can't do this anymore!"

"Do what?!" he yelled and again he watched as she again jumped at the sound of his raised voice.

"You want to know what's going on...I'll tell you!" she said raising her voice slightly as she punched his chest. "I haven't slept a single night since the night before the accident!"

Jesse was puzzled, "Why?" he asked.

"Because you cry out, you yell and thrash around in your sleep every night?!"

"What?" he said embarrassed.

"You heard me. What's worse, is that I can't even lay down or sleep in our bed with you anymore."

"Why?"

"Because, you've hit me Jesse! YOU. HIT. ME!" she said with tears streaming down her face.

"WHAT THE FUCK BECA?!" he yelled again making her jump. "I have never hit you!"

She broke eye contact with him and whispered, "Yes...you have." as she removed her hoodie and pajama pants to show him the bruises on her arms, legs and abdomen. She had been very careful to wear things that covered the bruises and to only undress when he was sleeping or in the other room. She knew if Jesse or anyone else saw them they would start asking questions; questions she didn't want to answer.

She watched as the hardened expression on Jesse's face changed. There were tears welling in his eyes. "I'm not sure if it's pain, a reaction to the medication, nightmares about the accident or a combination of all three but I stay awake and watch you sleep so that I know you're safe and so that I know that you aren't hurting yourself."

He stood in silence for several minutes looking at the bruises on all over her body before he slowly reached for her so that he could inspect them closer, "Oh my God... Did I really do this?"

"Yes, while you were sleeping."

Running his fingers over the bruises he said, "Wait a minute...I asked you about a bruise on your arm the day after the accident."

"Yeah...what about it?"

"Did I do that too?"

"Yes...that was the first one." she said pulling her arms back still not sure she wanted him to touch her. "It's ok. You didn't mean it."

"Baby, it's not ok. Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Jess, I've tried to wake you every time it happens, but I can't get you to wake up. So I sit and watch you instead." she said turning her back to him so she could put her hoodie and pajama pants back on.

"Oh God baby...I'm so, so sorry. I had no idea." he said turning her around and pulling her into a hug, then kissing the top of her head.

"Jess...it's my job to take care of you and Dylan."

"You should have said something."

"I couldn't."

"Why not?"

"Because I didn't want to feel like a failure."

He pulled her away from his chest so that he could look at her. She immediately dropped her head. He reached up and as gently as he could he used his index finger to lift her chin. "You could never be a failure not to me or Dylan and no one would have thought any less of you if you had asked for help."

Pulling her chin away from him and burying her face in his chest she said, "I'm exhausted and I can't have this argument with you right now." she mumbled.

"I know you are. You're gonna sleeping tonight my love, I promise." He stood there holding her for several minutes when he realized that her breathing was even and that she was literally asleep standing on her feet with her head on his chest. Even when she was pregnant, she didn't weigh much of anything but his body ached terribly and he wasn't sure he could lift her without hurting them both. He finally mustered up the courage to carefully pick her up bridal style and hobbled the few steps over to their bed. He couldn't imagine what the last few weeks had been like for her.

He laid her in bed before pushing her sleeves up to look at the bruises again. He couldn't believe what he had done to her. No wonder she had distanced herself from him and he couldn't much blame her. She was probably scared that he would start hitting her when he was awake. She looked so peaceful lying there, he kissed her arms before pulling the sleeves back down and throwing the blankets over her. He kissed her forehead and said, "Sleep well baby...I love you." He silenced her phone, turned out the light on the bedside table and picked up the baby monitor then crossed the room to sit in the recliner and watch her sleep.

* * *

><p>Damnit! He felt SO stupid for not knowing what she was going through and he couldn't believe he had hit her. He hit her. He put his hands on her in a way that wasn't loving and gentle. He hit his wife, the love of his life and the mother of his children. She didn't deserve that. He caused her pain and what's worse is that she was covering the bruises like a battered woman. No wonder she didn't ask for help. She didn't want to chance anyone seeing the bruises she was trying so hard to cover.<p>

She hadn't slept in the last few weeks and had literally just collapsed in his arms from sheer exhaustion. She had been going almost non-stop, he should have known. Taking care of him and Dylan all day by herself was too much for her, especially given her condition and yet she was doing it all, refusing help because she felt it was her job and hers alone. She had been pushed beyond her limits and instead of saying something she fell back into one of her old habits. He was relieved that she hadn't left, though if this had continued to go on, she just might have and she would have taken Dylan with her.

Jesse went into their closet to get changed for bed and that's when he saw the ring box on one of his shelves. When he opened it, her engagement and wedding rings were inside with a note that simply said, **_"I can't do this anymore. I'm sorry."_ **When he turned around he noticed her suit case on the floor and bent down to open it. Inside Beca had carefully folded and packed clothes for herself and Dylan. She _was_ planning to leave him. He hit her and she was going to leave. Had it really come to this? He realized that he hurt her but was she really going to leave him?

Walking out to the family room the realization hit him like a shit ton of bricks, he was going to lose his wife, his son and their babies. He was relieved that she didn't run, after all she promised that her days of running were over but when push came to shove, he knew that old habits died hard. In the end, he had to trust and believe that their marriage was strong enough to get them over this hurdle. He laid on the couch and stared at the ceiling, hoping that Beca would sleep soundly through the night if he wasn't there to disturb her and maybe, just maybe after a good night's sleep she would change her mind about leaving.

* * *

><p>AN: This chapter is by far the most gut wrenching chapter I've written. Sorry if it made you cry. If it makes you feel any better, I cried while writing it. I went through lots of kleenex trying to get this chapter just right and I'm still not really sure that it is but it's as close to perfect as I could get it. Please let me know what you think. Feel free to PM me with any questions you might have.


	14. Chapter 14

The next morning, Jesse woke up to the sounds of Dylan starting to move around in his crib and slowly made his way up the stairs to his room. He entered the room with a smile and told Dylan "Good Morning little man."

Dylan rubbed his sleepy eyes and immediately asked "Mornin'...Where's Mommy?" Jesse was a little disappointed that Dylan asked for Beca. It made his heart twinge and it was painful to think that Dylan wasn't excited to see him first thing in the morning. Dylan had gotten was used to the new routine. The routine being that Beca did everything while Jesse vegged out on the couch, the bed or in the recliner, resulting in Dylan getting a lot of special one on one time with Beca. Not that he didn't get special time with Beca before because he did, she always saw to it that he did but since the accident, it was now Beca and Dylan against the world, or so they both thought.

"Mommy's sleeping so we have to be quiet when we go downstairs ok?"

"Ok." Dylan said as Jesse lifted him out of his crib.

"Let's get you a dry diaper and go eat breakfast." Jesse said rubbing Dylan's back as he crossed the room to the changing table. "What do you want to eat?"

"Cheerios, yogurt and fruit."

Jesse smiled, "Sounds good." He was thankful that Dylan wanted something simple and not some big elaborate breakfast. He wasn't sure he was up for the challenge of cooking at the moment.

Before going downstairs, Jesse grabbed an outfit, socks and shoes for Dylan then reminded him that Mommy was sleeping and that they needed to be quiet when they got downstairs. Jesse fed him and got him dressed before going in to check on Beca. She was still sleeping soundly so he decided to let her sleep longer and went back out into the family room to play with Dylan for a while.

After Beca had said something about a possible reaction to his medication, he decided not to take it last night and he seemed to be feeling fine so he skipped his morning dosage as well. He wasn't in too much pain, but the swelling in his knees caused him to be really stiff and he was still moving really slowly. Bryan offered several times to come by and show him with some easy exercises that would help with the stiffness, but Jesse declined every time, until now.

Stacie took Dylan over to their house to play with Colton while Bryan worked with Jesse on some physical therapy exercises on the back patio. Bryan showed Jesse some stretching and strengthen exercises to do to help with the stiffness, he also suggested getting in the hot tub which would help loosen his muscles, ligaments and tendons. When they were finished, Bryan went home to check on Stacie and the boys while Jesse checked on Beca.

* * *

><p>When he walked in their room she was still sleep, in fact, she'd hardly moved. She had been asleep since about 8:00 the night before. He hated to wake her but she had an appointment with Debi at that afternoon. He ran his hand up the length of her leg and rested it on her hip as he kissed her she stirred.<p>

"Good morning beautiful." he said kissing her over and over. His feelings were hurt when she pushed him away, but he quickly realized that after all she had been through he couldn't just kiss what happened and what she had gone through away. They were back at square one, her walls were up and he was going to have to work hard to get them back down. He had to respect her boundaries and accept that it was going to take some time for her to trust him again. He also needed to prepare himself for the very real possibility that things may never go back to the way they were.

"Morning." she said as she stretched.

"Did you sleep well."

"I did...I feel so much better." Rubbing her belly she asked, "Where's Dylan?"

"Playing at Aunt 'Tacie's." he said laughing. They both loved that Dylan couldn't pronounce Stacie's name.

"How long was I asleep?"

"15 hours or so." he told her. "You hungry?"

"Yeah, I'm starving."

"Why don't you go shower and I'll fix you something to eat."

"Ok..." she said sleepily.

Jesse kissed her hand and walked out of the room toward the kitchen. He made a mistake though...he didn't make sure she was out of the bed before he left the room. When he came back with her breakfast fifteen minutes later, she was not only still in bed, she had gone back to sleep. He smiled and shook his head as he placed her breakfast on the hope chest at the foot of their bed. He wanted to lay down with her but he knew that wasn't the best idea given their current situation. He remembered a time when he could lay next to her and neither one of them would want to get out of bed, opting to stay in their little bubble instead of facing the the cold, cruel world. He smiled hoping they would eventually get back to that place.

He rubbed her bump and kissed her cheek, "Baby, you have to get up."

"Don't want to." she said without opening her eyes. "I've missed my friend sleep."

He chuckled, "I know babe, but you have an appointment with Debi today."

"Oh shit...I forgot." she said sitting up, that's when she realized that Jesse hadn't slept in their bed last night. "Where did you sleep?"

"On the couch. You needed to sleep and I didn't want to disturb you."

"Thanks, but I hate that you slept on the couch."

"Can't be as bad as you sitting up in the recliner all night the last few weeks. I didn't want to hurt you anymore. I hate that I hurt you in the first place and I hate that you haven't slept. The couch wasn't all that bad." He told her as he handed her breakfast to her.

She pushed her food around on the plate. "Thank you."

"Can we talk about what happened?" he asked as he sat next to her on the bed.

Not making eye contact and continuing to push her food around on her plate she asked, "What do you want to know?"

"Did I..." he was struggling with the words. "Did I..."

"Did you what?"

"Did I hit Dylan?"

"No...I kept him away from you when you were sleeping." She told him. "I didn't want him to be afraid...like I am."

Dropping his head into his hands, "Oh God Beca...I'm so sorry. I am...I'm sorry."

"I know you are."

"Were you going to leave me?"

Looking him the eye this time, she said, "Yes."

"Baby, you have to know I didn't mean it. I had no idea what I was doing."

"I know."

"But you took your rings off and your suitcase is packed."

"Yeah, I know I was hoping to get it unpacked before you saw it."

"I'm not sure what hurt more; seeing your rings in the ring box or seeing yours and Dylan's thing packed in a suitcase." He told her. "What was your plan?"

"I was going to leave while you were napping. I had the truck packed and Dylan was strapped in his car seat." Beca watched the expression on Jesse's face. "I buckled myself in and started the engine but I couldn't make myself back out of the garage. I just couldn't do it. I couldn't be responsible for breaking up our family. I couldn't do to my babies what my parents did to me." she said as tears streamed down her face.

"I promise...it'll never happen again. Please baby, please don't leave me." he pleaded.

"Jess...you don't know that it won't happen again."

"I swear it won't."

"Jess..." she said dropping her head.

He cut her off before she could finish what she was going to say and lifted her chin with his finger, "I flushed all the medication; every last bit of it."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I'd rather be in constant pain, than cause you anymore." He said, "I can't risk losing you, Dylan and the babies because of this."

"Jess...you have broken bones. You can't just throw your medication away."

"Too late, it's gone...all of it."

"What are you going to do for the pain?"

"I'll take Tylenol or Advil but I'm not taking that crap the doctor prescribed."

"Ok." she said rolling her eyes. "I can't agrue with you when you're like this."

"If it's ok with you, I'd like to sleep in our bed with you tonight."

She looked back down at the plate sitting in front of her, "Jess...as much as I'd like that. I can't...not right now."

"I understand." he said looking a little defeated but he understood. As much as he wanted to hold her, tell her he was sorry and more importantly show her, he knew she wasn't ready.

"I just need some time." she said reaching over to touch his cheek. "I promise I'll try not to take too long."

"Take all the time you need. I'm not going anywhere." he took her face in his hands and kissed her gently.

Resting her forehead against his, "Thank you for understanding."

* * *

><p>While Beca showered, Jesse was left to this thoughts. He still wasn't completely sure whether or not Beca was going to leave. She told him she was planning to leave, going so far as to take her rings off, leave a note, pack a suitcase and load the truck. He had no idea where she was planning to go or how he would've found her because if she had left, she wouldn't make the mistake of telling anyone where she was going for fear they would tell him, knowing he would go looking for her. As hard as it was to admit, he decided that maybe he should let her go so she could finally have some peace and time to sort through her feelings but he knew deep down that he couldn't imagine a day without her in it. She and their children are his entire world. His heart beats for her, she is his beginning and his end, his life literally revolves around her. What would he do without her? Without Dylan? Without the babies?<p>

She told him what happened but he would never truly understand the magnitude of what she had gone through or how she was feeling. He was still reeling from the what she had told him and he was extremely thankful that he hadn't hit Dylan, but as hard as he tried he couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that he hit his wife. Jesse wandered into the studio and sat at the piano; it felt like forever since he'd played. He started playing random notes before he fell into a rhythm.

_"How do I,_  
><em>Get through one night without you?<em>  
><em>If I had to live without you,<em>  
><em>What kind of life would that be?<em>  
><em>Oh, I...<em>

_I need you in my arms, need you to hold,_  
><em>You're my world, my heart, my soul,<em>  
><em>If you ever leave,<em>  
><em>Baby you would take away everything good in my life,<em>  
><em>And tell me now<em>

_How do I live without you?_  
><em>I want to know,<em>  
><em>How do I breathe without you?<em>  
><em>If you ever go,<em>  
><em>How do I ever, ever survive?<em>  
><em>How do I, how do I, oh how do I live?<em>

_Without you,_  
><em>There'd be no sun in my sky,<em>  
><em>There would be no love in my life,<em>  
><em>There'd be no world left for me."<em>

He started one song and then gently flowed into another, singing as he went along, never missing a beat.

_"Everybody needs a little time away, I heard her say, from each other."_  
><em>Even lover's need a holiday far away from each other.<em>  
><em>Hold me now. It's hard for me to say I'm sorry. I just want you to stay.<em>

_After all that we've been through, I will make it up to you. I promise to._  
><em>And after all that's been said and done,<em>  
><em>You're just the part of me I can't let go.<em>

_Couldn't stand to be kept away just for the day from your body."_

Once again, he very gracefully transitioned from one song to another beautifully and completely effortlessly.

_'Cause all of me  
>Loves all of you<br>Love your curves and all your edges  
>All your perfect imperfections<br>Give your all to me  
>I'll give my all to you<br>You're my end and my beginning  
>Even when I lose I'm winning<br>'Cause I give you all of me  
>And you give me all of you, oh"<em>

* * *

><p>When Beca got out of the shower, she could hear Jesse playing...then came the voice, his voice. The voice she loved and missed so much over the last several weeks. Their house was always filled with music with the exception of the last few weeks. The last few weeks had been painful, lonely and quiet, excruciatingly quiet. She continued to listen as he played. The sound of the piano floating through the house was a Godsend and would definitely be very therapeutic for both of them.<p>

Beca listened to him play and sing as she got ready. Hearing him pour his heart out to her through song was gut wrenching. His voice had an almost haunted sound to it. She listened as he seamed the songs he was playing together flawlessly. When she was ready, she walked into the family room and put her jacket down before walking across the house to the studio. He began playing yet another song, so she stood in the doorway and listened. He didn't know she was there until she started singing. He looked up at the sound of her voice as he continued to play.

_"Right from the start_  
><em>You were a thief<em>  
><em>You stole my heart<em>  
><em>And I your willing victim<em>  
><em>I let you see the parts of me<em>  
><em>That weren't all that pretty<em>  
><em>And with every touch you fixed them"<em>

_Now you've been talking in your sleep, oh, oh_  
><em>Things you never say to me, oh, oh<em>  
><em>Tell me that you've had enough<em>  
><em>Of our love, our love"<em>

He joined her when she sang the chorus.

_"Just give me a reason_  
><em>Just a little bit's enough<em>  
><em>Just a second we're not broken just bent<em>  
><em>And we can learn to love again<em>  
><em>It's in the stars<em>  
><em>It's been written in the scars on our hearts<em>  
><em>We're not broken just bent<em>  
><em>And we can learn to love again"<em>

While singing the chorus they never broke eye contact with each other. They continued to sing directly to one another as she continued to walk across the room toward him.

_**Jesse:** _

_"__I'm sorry I don't understand_  
><em>Where all of this is coming from<em>  
><em>I thought that we were fine<em>

_**Beca:** (Oh, we had everything)_

_Your head is running wild again_  
><em>My dear we still have everythin'<em>  
><em>And it's all in your mind"<em>

_**Beca:** (Yeah, but this is happenin')_

_**Beca:** _

_"You've been havin' real bad dreams, oh, oh_  
><em>You used to lie so close to me, oh, oh<em>  
><em>There's nothing more than empty sheets<em>  
><em>Between our love, our love<em>  
><em>Oh, our love, our love"<em>

**_Together:_**

_"Just give me a reason_  
><em>Just a little bit's enough<em>  
><em>Just a second we're not broken just bent<em>  
><em>And we can learn to love again<em>  
><em>I never stopped<em>  
><em>You're still written in the scars on my heart<em>  
><em>You're not broken just bent<em>  
><em>And we can learn to love again"<em>

By the end of the song she was standing next to him and he stopped playing. He stood up and they embraced each other. "I'm so sorry." he cried as he mumbled the words into the crook of her neck.

"I know baby." She said rubbing his back and neck. "Believe me, I know."

"Please tell me you're not leaving."

She lifted his head so that he was looking at her, "I'm not leaving. I've missed you too much to leave."

Still looking into her eyes he said, "I'm sorry. I was out of it most of the time and didn't realize what I was doing or what you were going through."

"Jess...It's ok. It's gonna take some time, but we'll get through this...I promise."

"So we're not broken?"

"No, we're not broken...just bent." With those words he couldn't hold himself back anymore; he kissed her passionately. He knew things wouldn't be easy but he also knew that neither of them were ready to throw in the towel and he was happy about that, at least it was a start. They would work this out; they had to, they had three little ones counting on them to work it out. He made a mental note to talk to her about calling Benji. He wasn't sure she would agree to go to counseling with a stranger so Benji was the next best option.

When they took a break to catch their breath, Beca said, "I wanna ask you something."

"Anything. Anything at all." Jesse said. "I swear I'd move Heaven and Earth for you."

Beca looked down at her hands then up at Jesse "Can I have my rings back?"

"I thought you'd never ask." He said pulling the ring box out of his pocket. "Please, don't ever take them off again." He said as he put her rings back on her finger.

Taking a deep breath she said, "I don't intend to." she said as she kissed him.

* * *

><p>AN: Song References:

"How Do I Live" by Trisha Yearwood

"Hard To Say I'm Sorry" by Chicago

"All of Me" by John Legend

"Just Give Me A Reason" by Pink featuring Nick Ruess


	15. Chapter 15

When they arrived at the birthing center, Debi and Hope immediately noticed that Jesse was banged up. He told them about the accident while Beca cried about it for the umpteenth time. Much to Beca's dismay, Jesse also told Debi about the stress that the accident had caused for her and about the bruises she was going to see on Beca's body. Beca assured Debi that she hadn't had any contractions but Debi said she was going to check her out "head to toe" while she was there.

Debi told them that while Jesse's flashbacks and nightmares were to be expected, Beca needed to be more careful when trying to deal with them. She actually preferred that Beca just give Jesse his space and instructed her not to touch him while he was having one. She then motioned for Beca to get on the scale which she hesitated to do it until Jesse nudged her. Beca knew that she hadn't eaten well if at all over the last few weeks and was worried that she dropped more weight. As she got on the scale she closed her eyes and prayed, that she had gained at least a couple of pounds. To her surprise and delight, she gained 3 pounds, she wasn't quite sure how she had done it but she wasn't going to complain.

Just like Beca expected, Debi was increasing her caloric intake again in an effort to get her to gain some more weight. Otherwise she said the babies were "beautiful" and "growing like little weeds" despite Beca not gaining much weight. She impressed upon Beca that she needed to rest and by rest she meant sleep. She also told her that she could take melatonin or drink sleepy time tea but one way or the other she needed to be sleeping. She also encouraged her to nap when Dylan napped because once the babies came sleep was going to "go by the wayside". She and Hope also offered to help Beca during the day with anything she needed, whether it was with Jesse, Dylan or household chores because they wanted to make sure all of the Swansons were healthy.

* * *

><p>"Well, that went better than expected." Beca said as Jesse buckled Dylan into his car seat.<p>

"It did...I was very pleasantly surprised."

"Me too."

"So...where to now?"

Beca got a big grin on her face and said, "Wahlburgers!"

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, I'm starving and the babies want a BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger."

"I wanna burger!" Dylan said from the back seat.

"Ok...Wahlburgers it is!"

"Yay!" Dylan clapped.

* * *

><p>Wahlburgers was a burger joint owned and operated by none other than the famous Wahlberg brothers. Their first restaurant was opened in Boston and they had since moved to a few other big cities, Los Angeles being one of them.<p>

When they were walking from the parking lot to the restaurant, Jesse held Dylan and reached over to hold Beca's hand. He was surprised when she actually let him. They walked in sat down and their waitress came over to their table to take their order. Beca ordered a BBQ Bacon Burger, a caesar salad with tomatoes, avocado and feta cheese, fried dill pickles with ranch dip, sweet potato fries and a large chocolate shake for herself before ordering a burger, fries and a shake for Dylan.

When she looked up from the menu, Jesse jokingly asked, "Are you sure that's all you want?"

She winked, "Yes smartass...are you going to order something for yourself?"

Jesse chuckled then ordered the same burger as Beca, as well as an order of fries for himself because he knew not to mess with her food. She had just been given carte blanche to eat whatever she wanted and she was going to take full advantage of it. Far be it from him to interfere.

While they waited for their burgers, Beca gave Dylan a coloring book and colors to keep him occupied. Jesse reached over for a blue crayon and started coloring with him while Beca checked a few emails for work. She looked up when she heard Dylan talking.

"No Daddy." Dylan said. "Widdle boys don't has blue hair!"

Jesse chuckled, "Oh, why not?"

"Cuz dey don't...dats why."

Beca laughed at the interaction between the two. She had missed this so much over the last few weeks and so did Dylan. Dylan told her many times that he "missed Daddy" and often said "Daddy's sick so he sleeps." It always broke Beca's heart. She knew Dylan needed time with both of them especially now with the impending birth of the twins. She really hoped that things were well on their way to getting back to the way they were before the accident.

Beca and Dylan ate the salad and dill pickles while she and Jesse talked about Christmas, the babies and how close their arrival was. Her due date was 6 weeks away but Debi didn't expect her to go much further than her next appointment, though Beca was secretly hoping to surprise everyone by making it to at least 37 weeks. But right now, she was trying to focus on Christmas which was just 3 weeks away. This would be their last Christmas as a family of 3 and she wanted to make it really special for Dylan.

When their lunch arrived at their table, Jesse watched as Beca devoured her burger and fries like she hadn't just eaten an entire order of fried pickles and a caesar salad. She was definitely making up for not eating well over the last few weeks. She was sure to have gained at least a couple of pounds just from that meal. Dylan and Jesse both took the time to actually taste their burgers, savoring the taste and enjoying every bite.

* * *

><p>Four days later Jesse was released by his doctor to go back to work the following week. Beca wasn't really convinced that he was ready to go back but then she wasn't sure if that was because she didn't think he was healed or if she had just gotten so used to him being at home. Whatever the case, he was going back to work in a week and they were now on their way to buy a new SUV.<p>

Jesse selected an SUV identical to the one Beca was currently driving the only difference being that it was 2 model years newer. Just like he did the last time they bought a new vehicle, he insisted that Beca take the brand new vehicle and he would take the older one. When they arrived home and parked both very large SUV's in the garage, Beca jokingly said that it looked like the Secret Service was living with them.

After putting Dylan down for his nap, Beca gave Jesse a funny look, the look that meant she wanted something. "What's that look for?"

"I'm craving fried dill pickles, ranch dip and Blue Bell Double Fudge Brownie Ice Cream."

Jesse laughed, "Again?"

"Yes...I'm beginning to think the babies are going to come out looking like pickles."

"Let's hope not."

Beca did her best to make puppy dog eyes like Dylan did and said, "Will you go get some?"

"Ok babe...I'll be right back."

"Thank you." she said as she kissed him goodbye. "Please drive safe."

"I will. I'll be back soon." He told her. "Love you."

"Love you more."

* * *

><p>Beca napped on the couch while Jesse was gone. When he got back, he battered the pickles and took everything out on the patio to fry them outside so it wouldn't smell up the house. Beca hated how foods fried inside made the house smell. He made her ranch dip which was chilling in the fridge as was the homemade peanut butter fudge, which just so happened to be one of Beca's favorites, she hadn't asked for fudge but he made it anyway.<p>

He had a lot to make up for because even though he had no memory of what he had done, Beca did. They were dealing with the issue of abuse that they believed stemmed from the accident itself, not from the cocktail of medication he was given after the accident. It hadn't been easy. Jesse was still having nightmares but because he wasn't medicated Beca could easily wake him before he started to get abusive with her like he had been. Her bruises were fading but the memories of how they got there were still really fresh. She would still jump if he raised his voice even slightly and if he came up from behind her she would flinch. He found that if he began talking to her before he approached her from behind her reaction was warmer and less rigid. He knew he had to regain her trust which wasn't going to be easy. Luckily, Dylan didn't seem to notice what had been going on or if he did it hadn't affected him, which they were both extremely thankful for.

* * *

><p>When Beca woke up, Jesse and Dylan were outside playing with Laney. She walked outside only to be attacked by all three. She kissed Jesse and asked, "How long was I asleep?"<p>

"Couple hours or so." He said as they all walked back inside. "You hungry?"

"Always!" She winked.

"I just got finished frying these bad boys a few minutes ago." He said as he showed he the pan of homemade fried pickles.

"You made them homemade?"

"I sure did...anything for you my love." he said as he kissed the top of her head, made her a plate of fried pickles and filled a condiment cup with ranch dip. Her eyes got huge when she saw the plate.

"Wow...Babe, these are SO good!" She said with her mouth full.

"Momma, I want somma dat." Dylan said as Jesse sat him on the bar stool next to her. Jesse walked over to the freezer to get her ice cream then he pulled out the homemade fudge. He stood with his back to her so she couldn't see what he was doing.

"What are you doing over there?"

"Making you a surprise."

"Another one?"

"Yep!"

"Me too Daddy."

"You can share with Mommy." Jesse told him.

"Mommy, I share your prize."

"Yeah, baby...I'll share my surprise with you." she said wiping ranch dip off of his face.

Jesse brought her a bowl of double fudge brownie ice cream with chunks of peanut butter fudge along the side of the bowl. "Oh my God babe, I've died and gone to junk food heaven! I'm SO not eating dinner after this." she said as she kissed him.

Beca took a bite of the ice cream and made an orgasmic moan as Jesse just watched her with wide eyes. She truly was in her own little piece of junk food heaven and she was thoroughly enjoing it. She ate several more bites before Dylan was able to get her attention, "Mommy...I want somma dat." he said pointing to her bowl.

"Ok." she said giving him a bite. "Is it good?"

"It's good Daddy."

"Daddy is so good to us...huh?"

"Yeah...he da best." Beca and Jesse both laughed. Dylan was a little sponge and seemed to be picking up on a lot of things they said. It was funny to hear him say them. So far, they were blessed because he hadn't said any cuss words...yet!

* * *

><p>After eating themselves into junk food oblivion, they all laid in bed and watched "Home Alone". Dylan started running around the room screaming and waving his arms in the air like Macaulay Culkin did in the movie...definitely too much sugar. He was so cute and it wasn't like they loaded him up with sugar very often anyway. It wouldn't be long before he "crashed and burned" from his sugar high.<p>

Surprisingly, Beca stayed awake for the entire movie and Dylan finally knocked out with his head on her baby bump. When the movie was over, Jesse said, "I'll take him up to bed."

"No...leave him. It won't be long before the babies are here and his perfect little world is upside down." she said running her fingers through his thick, dark hair and watching as he sucked his knuckle.

"Ok, but we really can't make this a habit you know."

"I know but it's ok for now."

"I just don't want us to be 'that couple' that has all of the kids in the bed with them every night."

"You just don't want to be the couple that has to move the kids into their own beds or has to get really creative just to have sex." she said with a wink.

"True...but you know what I mean."

"We won't let him sleep in here on a regular basis, I promise. Besides, he transitioned well to his crib after being in here with us for a year."

"Yeah, he did."

"At least let me get him off your bump so you can get comfortable."

"He's fine...I'm comfortable." she said as she scooted down a little in the bed. Jesse snuggled into her and Dylan and asked, "How would you feel about counseling?"

"I'm not opposed to it, but I want to be sure that we find a good counselor."

"What about Benji?"

Beca took a deep breath, "I think he's our best option."

"I'm so glad you said that. I really don't think I'd be comfortable talking about this to anyone else." Jesse said looking very relieved. "I'll call him tomorrow for an appointment."

"Ok." Beca said loving that she was laying in bed with her family. Things felt like they used to before the accident but she knew the elephant was still in the room. "Nite Jess... I love you."

"I love you too baby. More than you'll ever possibly know." He said as he got up to sleep on the couch.

"Babe, where are you going?"

"To sleep on the couch."

"Why don't you sleep in here tonight?"

"Ok." he said as he grabbed a blanket and sat in the recliner.

"What are you doing?"

Jesse gave her a puzzled look, "Going to sleep?"

"Jess...when I asked if you wanted to sleep in here tonight, I meant in our bed."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah...I've missed you. This bed is too big and too lonely without you in it."

Jesse carefully crawled back in bed and snuggled in close to Beca and Dylan, "Oh God...how I've missed you."

That night was the first time since the night the abuse started that Beca allowed Jesse to sleep in bed with her and Dylan. It was also the first night Jesse hadn't had a nightmare.

* * *

><p>Two days later they found themselves in Benji's office. Benji was a highly experienced psychologist and in the last few years had been working exclusively with military veterans with PTSD. His schedule was extremely packed, but after speaking with both Jesse and Beca over the phone, he knew he needed to help his friends and would do anything in his power to do so. Benji told Beca and Jesse that he wanted to see them twice a week; even offering to meet with them in their home since Beca was so far along in her pregnancy. He explained that based on what Beca was describing, Jesse was in fact suffering a form of PTSD and that he was more than likely not having nightmares but night terrors. While night terrors are rare in adults they're not completely unheard of.<p>

Until they started counseling, Jesse really didn't know the extent of what he had done until Benji asked Beca to describe in detail the things that occurred. Beca told Benji that there was one particular event that she wasn't comfortable going into detail about. He told her that in order for counseling to really work she needed open up and put everything on the table. In that session, Jesse found out that he had choked Beca. It was while he had his hands around her neck that he told her that he would kill her; that was the day she decided that enough was enough and she was going to pack her bags and leave him. What made this revelation even worse was that Beca said that Jesse seemed to be awake when it happened, though when asked he had no recollection of the incident. Jesse now truly understood why her note said, **_"I can't do this anymore". _**He carried that note with him everyday since he found it as a reminder of what happened and would could still happen.

Benji asked Beca what Jesse had been doing prior to choking her. She told him that he was watching a movie. She thought it was either 'Speed' or 'The Fast and The Furious' but she couldn't be sure because she wasn't watching it with him. She did recall that there a car wreck and some violence but she had been in and out of the room cleaning and doing laundry. She told him that she had just put Dylan to bed and went into the kitchen for a glass of water when Jesse asked her if Dylan was asleep. Beca said, I told him "yes and when I turned around he was so close that I bumped into him and my glass of water spilled on his shirt. He got really pissed off and pushed me against the refrigerator, put his hand around my throat and said that if I ever did that again he was going to kill me. Then he went back into the family room as if nothing happened. I went back upstairs and locked myself and Dylan in his room that night." Beca was sobbing and Jesse was in complete shock; tears running down his face.

After that session, Benji asked that they start documenting everything that he did during the day so that they could try to narrow down what seemed to trigger Jesse's episodes. Jesse could go several nights without a night terror but when he did have them they were pretty bad. Benji seems to think that the movies he had been watching or attempting to watch might be triggering his night terrors since he always seemed to be watching them before he fell asleep. While movies weren't the only possible trigger, Benji did ask him to refrain from watching any movies until their next session and told him to focus on his family instead. Surprisingly, Jesse agreed.

As crazy as it sounded, Benji also suggested that Jesse start to 'date' Beca again. He told them that many couples get too comfortable in their relationship/marriage and once they add children to the mix they forget how to be a couple. He also said that because of what happened, dating might help Beca to start trusting Jesse again and said that they should get a sitter and schedule a date night at least once a week.

Jesse gave Beca a look that said **_"I'm not so sure about this."_ **

Beca squeezed his hand and said, "This too shall pass. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger."

* * *

><p>When they walked out of Benji's office, Jesse walked several steps ahead of Beca almost as if he were trying to avoid her. When she caught up she took his hand in hers and they walked hand in hand until they got to their SUV. Jesse opened the door Beca and helped her in before walking around to the other side. As he buckled his seat belt he let out a loud sigh.<p>

"Alright...you gonna tell me what's wrong?"

Jesse looked at her and asked, "Why didn't you tell me that I choked you?"

"I was trying to protect you."

"By hiding things?"

"Jess...I didn't want to hurt you anymore than I already had. When I showed you the bruises..." she trailed off, wiping tears as they trailed down her cheeks. "I couldn't... I didn't want..."

"What Beca? Spit it out." Jesse was trying to do better about raising his voice. She was still skiddish and would freak out if he did.

Beca was ringing her hands, took a deep breath and said, "I couldn't bear to see you look at me that way again."

Jesse sat back in his seat, it had been a rough session and he knew things would get worse before they got better. He couldn't continue to take everything out on her, it wasn't her fault. If he wanted to blame someone, he needed to blame Bumper and Kyle; they caused this mess. They caused his life to be thrown in turmoil, but he needed to stay focused on his recovery. The babies would be here soon and if he couldn't keep it together Beca was going to give him the boot and he wouldn't get to see his kids.

"Babe...I'm sorry. I knew going into therapy that there was a chance that I would find things out that I didn't like. I didn't mean to..."

Beca reached over and took his hand, "Jesse, I love you and I'm in this for the long haul. We'll be ok."

"I love you baby."

Beca winked at him, "Since Dylan is at Aunt 'Tacie's house what do you say we go on our first date?"

"I say...it's a date!" Jesse kissed Beca then started the truck. He knew exactly where he wanted to take her and he was going to make this a date she'd never forget. Beca called Stacie to check on Dylan and let her know that they were going to be a bit longer but would be by to get Dylan as soon as they got home. Stacie told her not to worry about a thing and that she hoped they enjoyed themselves.

* * *

><p>Jesse took Beca to Nikita Malibu for dinner. It was one of her favorite restaurants and since it was unseasonably warm maybe he could convince her to take a walk on beach afterwards. They thoroughly enjoyed their dinner. There was no need to rush, it wasn't late and they had all the time in the world. Jesse was surprised when Beca asked him to walk on the beach. He thought for sure that she would want to get back to Dylan.<p>

They walked hand in hand along the beach as the sun set. It was the perfect end to a not so perfect day. Jesse was still trying to process what Beca told him in counseling but he wasn't going to let it ruin their evening. He was going to do whatever it took to enjoy every minute he had with his wife and he was going to do whatever it took to get them back to the way things were.

As they walked, he looked at Beca and how the glow of the setting sun looked on her skin and in her eyes. She was the most beautiful woman in the world. Sure, every man said that about his wife, but he truly felt her beauty down into the depths of his own soul. When they stopped, Beca turned to face the ocean and closed her eyes against the breeze that was hitting her face. Jesse stood behind, wrapping his arms around her. The warmth of his body against hers was soothing, she missed this but more importantly, she needed this. She needed to feel his arms around her and she needed to feel normal again, she needed to know that they would be ok.

Jesse nuzzled her neck, kissing her gently. He whispered in her ear, "Whatcha thinking about gorgeous?"

She moaned as he continued to kiss her neck and that sweet spot just below her ear. "Mmm..." was all she could say.

"That good huh?"

She turned in his arms and snaked her arms around his neck. "I've missed this. I've missed us." she said before she kissed him.

Not wanting to but breaking their kiss anyway Jesse asked, "You ready to head home?"

"Just a few more minutes." she said burying her face in the crook of his neck. She really wasn't ready to go. She wanted to stay in lost in these moments with him forever.

* * *

><p>When they got home, Jesse went to Stacie and Bryan's to get Dylan while Beca went inside to get in the tub. It had been a long day, they'd been through a lot and she wanted nothing more than a hot bubble bath and her bed.<p>

"Babe! We're back." Jesse called as he and Dylan walked in the house.

"In the tub." she called back.

Jesse brought Dylan in so he could say good night, then took him up to bed. When he went back into the bathroom, Beca was laying in the tub with her arms along the side of the tub and her head back. Trying not to startle her, he kissed her on the forehead and whispered, "Mind if I join you?"

Jesse undressed and slid in the tub behind her. Beca sat up so he could rub her shoulders and back before she leaned against back his chest. She grabbed his hand and placed it on her belly so he could feel the babies moving. Beca leaned her head back against his shoulder and turned her face into his neck enjoying the intimacy she's missed over the last several weeks. Sure she missed her husband in other ways, but what she missed most of all was what they were sharing in that very moment and it was in that moment, in true Jesse fashion, that he started singing to her.

_"When I look into your eyes_  
><em>It's like watching the night sky<em>  
><em>Or a beautiful sunrise<em>  
><em>Well, there's so much they hold<em>  
><em>And just like them old stars<em>  
><em>I see that you've come so far<em>  
><em>To be right where you are<em>  
><em>How old is your soul?<em>

_Well, I won't give up on us_  
><em>Even if the skies get rough<em>  
><em>I'm giving you all my love<em>  
><em>I'm still looking up<em>

_And when you're needing your space_  
><em>To do some navigating<em>  
><em>I'll be here patiently waiting<em>  
><em>To see what you find<em>

_'Cause even the stars they burn_  
><em>Some even fall to the earth<em>  
><em>We've got a lot to learn<em>  
><em>God knows we're worth it<em>  
><em>No, I won't give up"<em>

And he meant every words he sang. He wasn't giving up on Beca or their family. As he laid in bed with his Beca snuggled tightly into his side, he thought **_"Maybe Benji was right, maybe I need to let go of the movies and hold on tighter to what's really important." _**He didn't _need_ movies, he _needed_ his family. Moments later he joined Beca for what would be the best night of sleep he had gotten in weeks.

* * *

><p>AN: So, things are finally on the up swing for Jesse and Beca...just in time for the holidays and the birth of their babies. Sorry for taking y'all on this scary little detour but a writer's gotta do what a writer's gotta do. It was time to shake it up a little.

'I Won't Give Up' by Jason Mraz


	16. Chapter 16

Jesse really took Benji's words to heart and started putting all his attention and focus on Beca and Dylan' they deserved it. She worked tirelessly while he was out of commission and now it was her turn to be waited on hand and foot; he planned to treat her like royalty. Beca wasn't allowed to lift a finger. Jesse would make breakfast before he left for work in the morning complete with little love notes for her and Dylan. He would also take care of dinner. Whether it meant putting something in the crockpot to cook all day, picking up takeout or cooking once he got home, he took care of everything. He even went so far as to come home from work daily with flowers and/or special treats.

Since they were no longer watching movies, Beca was so thankful she could have kissed Benji, that meant that when the TV was on they watched an awful lot of Disney Jr. shows. Beca figured it was safe for Jesse to watch the Disney channel and they often joked about it. Dylan loved that his favorite channel was now the channel of choice in the Swanson house.

Things were slowly getting back to the way they used to be. They noticed that since Jesse had gone back to work he seemed to be on a more even keel. He had a real outlet for his frustrations. Cliff said his composing had never been better. His sleep patterns were normal and he was back on a schedule which was definitely a good thing. Evidently Jesse's body was trying to tell him he needed structure and consistency. His night terrors seemed to be few and far between the only difference being that if he had them he was now able to pull himself out of them relatively quickly.

Beca was starting to feel better about having friends and family over now too. One afternoon she called Stacie to bring Colton by to play, which hadn't happened while Jesse was recovering. When Stacie arrived is was as if no time had passed. The boys played while Beca sat with her feet up talking to Stacie.

"So...how's Jesse?"

"He's good. He finally went back to work. He was really starting to drive me crazy."

"I bet. We've missed you these last few weeks." Stacie told Beca. "We've loved having Dylan over, but I really miss my bestie! Is everything ok?"

"Aww. I missed you too. Everything is great. We just decided to lay low and spend some quality time with Dylan since we really don't know when the babies will make their debut." Beca said rubbing her belly. She told herself that it was just a little white lie, she really did hate lying to Stacie but she had to do what she had to do. Ok, so it was a little more than a little white lie things had gone to shit there for a while but there was some truth in what she said. They had been spending a lot more time with Dylan since they started seeing Benji three weeks before.

"Makes sense. Guess that means endless movications huh?" Stacie chuckled.

Beca rolled her eyes. "Surprisingly no. We haven't watched one movie." That much was true. They hadn't been watching movies since Benji asked them not to.

"So what have y'all been doing?"

"We have had dance parties, played games, made cookies, gone to the Children's Museum...you know real family bonding stuff."

"That's awesome Beca." Stacie said reaching over to rub Beca's belly. "I can't wait for these two to get here."

"Yeah...I'm about ready to serve them with eviction papers." Beca laughed.

"So, when do you officially start maternity leave?"

"The day I drop this load." Beca laughed. "I've been on Family Leave since Jesse's accident. Family Leave lasts 12 weeks and my maternity leave will start right after that."

"That's good."

"Yeah, being home has been great but I miss the office." Beca confessed. "Most if not all of my work gets done in the middle of the night when the house is quiet."

"Do you really think you'll go back after the babies?" Stacie asked. "I mean, Jesse makes enough that you don't have to work."

"He does and I've thought about that but Rod will never accept my resignation."

"So what are you going to do?"

Beca sighed, "I don't know. I'll figure it out once I get a feel for having three kids in the physical world."

Stacie laughed. "When does your family arrive for the holidays?"

"Jesse is meeting them at the airport now." Beca told her. "You should bring Colton over tomorrow to play with the kids."

"We don't want to intrude on your family time." Beca gave Stacie _'the look'. _"What?"

"Just bring your ass over here tomorrow. Jesse and I have to go to work for awhile but Jenna and Sarah with be here with all the kids. Colton can play and you can visit."

"Ok, ok!" Stacie said with a grin. "Geez!"

* * *

><p>The next day, two days before Christmas, Beca had to go to the office to meet with a client about an upcoming release. She wasn't happy about the meeting for several reasons: 1 - they had family in town, 2 - she was 37 weeks pregnant and while she could still see and touch her toes she felt like a whale and didn't want to get dressed in anything that wasn't yoga pants and a hoodie, 3 - it was Christmas damnit! She didn't want to go to work.<p>

Jesse also had a meeting at work that day. Instead of driving both vehicles they rode into the city together leaving Dylan at home with their family; he would have more fun playing with his cousins than going to the office. They talked as they drove in. Beca preferred that Jesse keep two hands on wheel at all times but he insisted that he only need one. Jesse kept one hand on the steering wheel and the other her bump the entire drive in.

"Have a good day at work gorgeous. Call me when you get there?" Jesse asked as they both got out of the SUV so Beca could switch to the driver's seat.

"Thanks, you too." She said, "I'll call you."

"Love you baby." He said as he kissed her and rubbed her belly. "Drive safely."

"Always do….Love you more."

* * *

><p>When she got to her office, she called Jesse as promised to let him know she made it, and then she got down to business. Her meeting wasn't very long at all, which she was thankful for. When her meeting was over, she decided to make good use of her time and went back to her office to answer a few emails before leaving to pick Jesse up.<p>

"Hey babe…you ready?"

"I was but Jayme sprung one more meeting on me."

"Ugh…ok, how long do you think?"

"Well, if you come by now we can grab lunch somewhere real quick then you can wait in my office while I have this meeting then we can head home."

"Sounds like a plan. I'm leaving now."

"See you in a few. Love you."

"Love you too… drive safely."

Beca drove the ten minutes to Jesse's office, parked and made her way to the 31st floor to his office. She was exhausted and ready to go home. She hoped his meeting wouldn't take too long; she needed a nap and just wanted to veg out in their bed.

* * *

><p>"Hey Beca!" Jayme greeted. "Where's my little buddy?"<p>

"Hey Jayme." Beca said a little out of breath, "He's at home playing with his cousins."

"Aww man, I have a gift for him." Jayme said sticking her bottom lip out.

"Oh…that's so sweet. You didn't have to do that. He gets so much already."

"I know…but I wanted to."

"Tell you what, if I haven't had these babies by next week, Dylan & I will come take you to lunch and you can give it to him then."

"Great!" Jayme said. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I really don't want to be pregnant anymore. These two are constantly moving." Beca said rubbing her bump.

"I bet! Well…I won't keep you any longer, Jesse's in his office if you want to go in."

"Thanks Jayme."

* * *

><p>Beca waddled over to Jesse's office and walked in without knocking. He was leaning back in his chair hands behind his head, headphones on, looking out the windows. She wondered what he was listening to. When she glanced at the computer screen she noticed his screen saver…her boudoir pictures she took for him for their first wedding anniversary. She thought, <strong><em>"that was most definitely the best money I've ever spent!"<em> **When she was behind him, she removed his headphones in one swift move and said, "Working hard or hardly working?"

"Oh shit…you scared me." He said pulling her into his lap.

"Sorry babe…I couldn't resist." She giggled and kissed his cheek. "Ready for lunch?"

"Yep…let's go."

They decided to walk a couple of blocks to Wahlburgers; where they were becoming regulars. Jesse worked with Mark Wahlberg on a film score so he would meet Mark at the restaurant at least once a week for lunch. The staff knew them by name and started preparing their meals when they walked in. Mark told them if they continued to eat at his place as much as they did, he was going to have to name a burger after them. Beca laughed and explained that it was all the babies fault that they don't normally eat out this much. Mark laughed and with his heavy Boston accent said, "I guess we'll see about that after those little munchkins make their arrival."

* * *

><p>After having lunch, they walked back to Jesse's office. Upon entering Jayme told Jesse that his appointment had arrived just minutes before and pointed to the conference room which was about 40 feet away. The glass walls allowed them to see into the room.<p>

"What the hell Jess?" Beca said angrily dropping his hand to stand in front of him with her arm folded over her chest, "You have a meeting with Bumper?"

"No, that can't be right. My meeting is with a Dan Bailey…not Daniel Allen." He said pulling his phone out of his pocket to show Beca but it was too late she was already on her way to the conference room. This was not going to be pretty. "Beca…wait. Jayme, please tell Cliff what's going on and be sure to have security on standby. Shit's getting real…QUICK!" Jayme rushed into Cliff's office while Jesse was in a sprint to the conference room.

Beca was halfway to conference room when Jesse caught up with her. "Babe…look," he said showing her his phone, "my meeting was with a Dan Bailey….not Daniel Allen. He used a fake name to secure a meeting with me."

"It's fine…I've been looking forward to this day."

"Beca…you can't go in there." He said standing between her and the door.

"I can and I will. Jess, get out of my way!"

"Ok fine, but you're not going in there alone."

"Fine!" Beca barked as Jesse backed away and motioned for her to open the door.

She took a deep breath as she got to the door. When she walked in Bumper spun around and immediately went white when he saw her. Before he could utter a word, Beca was across the room and in his face. "You no good, dirty, rotten son of a bitch. What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Jesse…man, I just wanted to talk. To apologize for what happened."

Throwing his hands up in surrender, Jesse said, "Look…I'm not the one that spoke to you Beca is. You need to address her."

"Beca, please…" he said as she backed him into the corner of the conference room, his hands up to block whatever punches she was going to throw at him. She was little but he knew she wasn't above throwing a punch; he witnessed that first hand and he had to admit, he had been quite impressed.

"Don't you 'Beca please' me. You and your asshole friend could have killed Jesse and ruined my life, so you had better come up with something better than 'Beca please'."

"I can explain…if you'll back off. Jesse, man please. Call her off."

"You're on your own Bumper." Jesse said taking a seat at the conference room table.

"WHAT?! Are you serious right now?! You want to explain! There is no explaining what happened Bumper. How would you even begin to try to explain that what happened?! I could've lost my husband, my son could've lost his father and my babies may never have even known their father!" she said gently rubbing her belly.

"Beca…I know you're angry, but please."

"Angry?! Oh, you haven't seen angry yet!"

"Ok, maybe angry wasn't the right word."

"Were you born at the shallow end of the gene pool or did you sneak in when the life guard wasn't looking?"Jesse had to stifle a laugh. Now was not the time or place and he damn sure didn't need his wife to turn on him.

"Beca...you're really scaring me right now."

"I DON'T CARE! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOUR PITIFUL EXCUSES! There is no excuse or explanation good enough for what happened. You had a choice that morning and you made the wrong one. You should have used your head Bumper...it's that lump three feet above your ass. Oh, I'm sorry...that's right, the two of you have never met." Beca said thumping him in the forehead. "You knowingly and willingly got into a vehicle when you weren't fit to drive and now you want to make excuses for what happened? I guess I'm supposed to be stupid enough to believe that Kyle forced you to drink yourself stupid then put that joint in your mouth and made you inhale."

Jesse turned in his chair to see Cliff and the office staff watching as Beca, his very tiny, very pregnant wife had a grown man backed into a corner like a scared, helpless dog. Turning back around, Jesse could see the fear written all over Bumper's face. He was pretty sure he had never seen Bumper look so scared. Jesse could practically hear Bumper's teeth chattering and his knees knocking to together.

"How long are you going to keep me backed into this corner?" Bumper asked.

"Until I'm damn good and ready to let you out of it." Beca said through clenched teeth as she tightened the tie around Bumper's neck until his eyes bulged, "Now you listen to me you miserable, no good sack of rotting human flesh, when I let you out of this corner you're going to collect what's left of your balls and your dignity, and crawl back into whatever hole it is you crawled out of. You're going to forget what's happened here today and the next time I see your sorry ass, it'll be in court where I hope they sentence you to life under the damn prison. You got that?"

"Got it." He said fear laced his shaky voice.

"You are damn lucky I'm pregnant because there's nothing I'd like to do more than kick your sorry ass right here and now. The next time to decide to do something stupid like drink yourself into oblivion, get high and go drag racing, this is the day you'll remember and I hope my face haunts you for the rest of your miserable life."

"Can I go now?" he asked.

"No…not yet. I'm not quite done with you." She said as she put her hands on his shoulders and kneed him as hard as she could in the balls. "That's... for breaking Amy's heart. She loved you asshole."

Bumper lay crumpled in a ball of the floor grabbing his crotch and whining, tears streaming down his face for several minutes before he tried getting up. When he did, he saw Beca blocking the only door to the conference room and realized that everyone in the office was watching what had taken place. Jesse was still sitting at the conference room table, a huge smirk on his face. He was completely ashamed to admit it, but Beca's little power play had turned him on and he was unable to get up from the table without giving everyone something else to look at.

"You know Jesse…it's really too bad that you hooked Beca before I could because even when she's pregnant, she's hot. I would totally do her right here and now on this table." Bumper said as he collected his things from the conference room table. Beca, using what could only be described as stealthy ninja moves, came up from behind him and slammed his head hard into the table. "Rot in hell mother fucker!" She said through clenched teeth.

When he tried to lift his head, Beca slammed it back down on the table again. "Damnit Beca….that hurts!"

"Good…it was supposed to. Just so you know…I'm still not done with you."

He didn't see Jesse walk up behind him; his eyes were fixed on Beca, wondering what her next move was going to be. Jesse punched Bumper hard in the kidney; he dropped to the floor wincing in pain. "Damn, dude…it was a compliment." Jesse reached down, pulled Bumper up by the collar and punched him in the mouth.

"FUCK!" Bumper screamed grabbing his jaw. When he turned around, Beca kicked him in the balls again, "And that….was for me!" She said.

"Get the fuck out!" Jesse yelled. "And don't you ever talk about my wife that way again."

Bumper opened the conference room door and was met by two security guards. They promptly banned him from the premises, warning him that if he came back he would be arrested for trespassing and then they escorted him to the security office for processing.

As soon as Bumper was gone, Beca collapsed into Jesse's arms. "Come on…let's get you home." He told her as they walked out of the conference room. Before they could leave, Cliff asked them to step into his office.

"Come in." he said waving his hand and motioning them to sit down. As they sat down, Cliff asked them who Bumper was. Beca was still fuming but looked at Cliff and said, "Look, if what just happened is going to cause Jesse is going to get fired, please don't. It was my fault; I did it, not him. I promise I won't come up here anymore, just don't fire Jesse."

"Beca…honey, no one is getting fired. I just want to know what going on."

Taking a deep breath, she looked at Cliff, "Thank you…I just really don't know how much more of this I can take."

"I know, I know…It's been a tough couple of months." Cliff said.

Jesse told Cliff who Bumper was and that he was one of the individuals arrested the day of his accident. He also told Cliff that Bumper used a fake name to secure a meeting, knowing that Jesse wouldn't readily agree to a meeting with him given what had happened.

"Well…he shouldn't be a problem around here. Security is really good about photographing those that have been banned and coordinating with LAPD to make sure that everything is handled professionally.

"Thanks Cliff." Jesse said. "If you don't mind, I'm going to take Beca home now."

"Not at all, and Beca… You never have to worry about Jesse losing his job. I'd be crazy to let him go."

"Thanks Cliff." She said hugging the very fatherly looking man. "Merry Christmas"

"Merry Christmas to both of you and by the way…where is my little Jeca prodigy?"

"Jeca?" They both said puzzled.

Cliff gave a big belly laugh, "Yeah, Dylan's my little Jeca. I thought it was pretty original."

Beca rolled her eyes, "He's at home with our family."

"Rats! I have a gift for that little rascal."

"You too?" Beca asked. "Jayme has a gift for him."

"Yes, I have a gift for my adopted grandson." He said with a smile as he pointed to the corner of his office where a Harley Davidson Power Wheels was sitting.

"Oh my God Cliff." Beca said, "You've got to be joking."

"No, it's no joke…only the best for my favorite little person."

"Hey, wait a minute…I thought I was your favorite little person?" Beca said with a smirk.

"Well...I…umm…uhh…I." Cliff said sounding like Amy.

"Cliff, its ok…if I have to give up my title to anyone at least it's my son and it stays in the family."

"I don't know what to say. Cliff, this is so generous." Jesse said inspecting the gift.

"I'm coming up here next week to have lunch with Jayme; do you want to give it to Dylan then?" Beca asked.

"Sure thing…I can't wait to see his little face. I got a helmet too…look!" Cliff said pulling the helmet out of a gift bag that was on the handle bars. It had soft rubbery spikes that stood straight up off the top of the helmet and Dylan's name had been airbrushed on the side. Upon further inspection, Jesse noticed that Dylan's name had also been airbrushed on the tank of the motorcycle.

"He's going to love it Cliff." Jesse told him. "Hey babe…he's going to need his own garage at this rate."

Laughing she said, "I know. Jess, are you ready to go. I'm exhausted."

"Yeah, let's get you home." Cliff walked with them to the elevator and said, "Beca, I can't let you leave without saying that you completely made my day today."

"What do you mean?"

"For the show…It was amazing! A grown ass man scared of a tiny pregnant lady. I'm going to have to keep that video for days that I need cheering up."

"Oh my God…are you telling me that there are cameras in the conference room?"

"Yep…video and audio."

"Jess…you knew about this didn't you?"

"That's my cue to leave." Cliff said as he walked back toward the office. "See you two kids later…Merry Christmas!"

Giving her a knowing smirk he said as they got on the elevator, "Babe, I didn't say anything because I didn't want Bumper to know and because I want to see it again too, it was a total turn on."

"You're incorrigible."

* * *

><p>AN:

So...things were getting a little too serious for poor Beca and Jesse. It was time that they try to get back to their normal. It was also way past due for a run in with Bumper. I'm not real sure where the idea for this chapter came from but once I started writing it took on a life of it's own. Also, running into Bumper allowed Beca to release a lot of the pent up anger she's been carrying around since finding out that Bumper was part of the reason the accident happened.

Just wanted to take a minute to thank "A" for one of the sweetest reviews I received to date. Your words meant a lot and were greatly appreciated. I hope that I'll continue to make you and everyone else who reads proud.

As always, please let me know what you think.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N:

I wasn't going to post this chapter until later in the week, but proof reading and posting gave me the perfect excuse to take a break from cooking and cleaning. Plus there was a little smut...so, here's my contribution to Smut Sunday! LOL

* * *

><p>As soon as the elevator doors closed, Jesse hit the alarm button to stop it. Her back was against the wall of the elevator, he was standing in front of her, leaning on his arms which were on either side of her head and looking deeply into her eyes, "Maybe I am incorrigible, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm hard as a rock from watching you completely manhandle Bumper." He took her mouth hostage as their tongues battled for dominance.<p>

As she broke their kiss for air, Jesse moved down to her jawline and neck. "Jess…we can't do this here."

He grabbed her hand and placed it on his erection, "Do you feel this?"

She squeezed and he groaned, "Yes, I do but that doesn't change the fact that we're in an elevator...at your office. We can't do this here."

"Let's go back to my office." He said kissing her neck. "Baby, I've missed you."

"Babe…I've missed you too and I want this as much as you do but I really don't want your co-workers to catch me having sex with my husband. I'll never be able to show my face here again."

"Ugh…ok, when we get home?"

"Let's see what's going on when we get there."

"Ok." He said turning around to put the elevator back in service. They made out for the entirety of the ride down to the first floor. When they got off the elevator they were both very hot and bothered. Jesse opened the door to their SUV, so Beca could get in and when he went around getting in the driver's seat. That's when Beca got an idea, but she wouldn't put it into play until they were on the freeway.

During the ride home, they talked about what happened with Bumper and decided that they weren't going to allow him to ruin the holidays. When things got quiet, Beca decided to make her move. Right before they needed to exit the freeway, Beca let go of Jesse's hand, unbuckled her seat belt, she reached across the console and started unbuckling his seat belt.

"Babe…what are you doing?"

"Pull your pants down."

"What?"

"Just do it."

He did as he was told and Beca took him into her mouth as he drove. "Oh... my... God…babe!" He was trying not to completely lose it right then and there. She had him seeing stars; what she was doing with her mouth was absolute magic. He was breathing in slowly through clenched teeth and pounding his fist on the steering wheel. He silently thanked God for the dark tint on the windows and for the fact that they were in an SUV, not a car, so no one could see them but oh Lord help them if they got pulled over.

"Babe...your mouth. Ohhh...fuuucckk!" Jesse groaned. "If you don't stop I'm gonna blow."

She stopped for a brief moment and smiled as she placed feather kiss on his lips then put a peppermint in her mouth. He wondered what she was doing. She sucked on the peppermint for a few seconds then with it still in her mouth she took him in her mouth again. "OH. MY. GOD! " He yelled. This was a feeling he had never experienced before and he liked it. He couldn't form words or a clear thought. She was sucking it all right out of him. She sucked him for a few more minutes before she released him and blew on his cock, sending chills up his spine. "Oh God…babe...please...you...you... have gotta stop." As she released him she put the peppermint between her teeth and ran it up and down his length being sure to pay special attention to the tip which caused him to shudder. He was enjoying what she was doing and really didn't want her to stop.

He pulled over in a little secluded park a few blocks from their house, threw the SUV in park and pulled Beca up to his mouth. After kissing her for several minutes, he asked, "When did you learn that little trick?"

She winked "Can I assume you liked it." she said as she crunched what was left of the peppermint between her teeth.

"I'm not sure like is the right word." He said kissing her.

"I read it somewhere…thought I'd try it."

"What in the hell have you been reading?!"

She laughed, "Wouldn't you like to know."

"It's probably that 50 Shades of Grey trilogy that every woman on the planet is raving about but it's ok, you don't have to divulge your sources." He laughed.

"Good...I wasn't going to." she said with a devilish look in her eyes.

"So you thought today was the day to put all that reading and research to the test?"

"Well…you were suffering." She winked.

"Thank you." He said kissing her again. "You're amazing."

"You're welcome. Think you can face the rest of the day now?" she asked him.

"Oh yeah…but we're trying that again."

"Hell yeah…you're gonna do it me next time." she said kissing him hard.

"Deal." He said kissing her again as he pulled his pants up and she got back in her seat.

* * *

><p>As they drove, Jesse started to hum...then broke out into song, <em>"You spin my head right round, right round, When you go down, when you go down down"<em>

"Oh my God…Seriously Jess? That's the song you're gonna sing right now?"

With a huge grin plastered across his face he chuckled and said, "Kinda fitting…don't ya think?"

"Keep singing that song and see if I ever go down on you again."

He saluted and said, "My lips are sealed!" Jesse got a wicked little grin on his face as he started to hum again. Beca heard what he was humming and knew he was going to start singing.

"Jesse..." Beca gave him "the look" and said, "Don't do it. Don't do it."

He laughed, he just couldn't help himself. Then he burst into song again.

_"Thinkin' of you's workin' up my appetite_  
><em>Looking forward to a little afternoon delight<em>  
><em>Rubbin' sticks and stones together makes the sparks ignite<em>  
><em>And the thought of lovin' you is getting so exciting<em>

_Sky rocket's in flight, afternoon delight"_

Beca started laughing, she couldn't help it. Jesse got a little action, granted there hadn't been a lot of that going on lately, but all of sudden he was now Mr. Happy Pants.

* * *

><p>When they got home, the kids were running around in the back yard. Beca was happy to see that Stacie brought Colton over to join in the fun. Adam, Cody, Megan's fiancé Matt, were running around the yard with the kids while Stacie, Jenna, Sarah and Megan sat on the patio watching. The minute Dylan saw Beca walking out of the house and onto the patio he came running. "Mommy! I missed you."<p>

"Hi baby…I missed you too!" She said as she scooped him up in her arms and kissed his face.

"What am I? Chopped liver?" Jesse said feigning hurt.

"No Daddy…you not chop liber." He said reaching for Jesse. Everyone laughed…he really was such a funny little kid.

"Did you have a good day?" Beca asked him.

"Yes…I play in da yard wiff e'rbody and Laney play too."

"Sounds like fun." Jesse said looking at Laney who was currently sleeping at Stacie's feet.

"Looka Mommy…she tired." He said pointing to Laney.

"Yeah, Mommy's tired too…wanna go lay down with me for a bit?"

"In Mommy's bed?"

"Yeah…in my bed."

"Can we watch Doc McStuffin's?"

"Yeah…we can watch Doc." She said taking Dylan from Jesse.

"I got a pee diaper." He told Beca.

"When are you gonna go on the potty like a big boy?"

"No, I not do dat." He said shaking his head. "You could wipe my butt." He said pointing to Beca with a huge grin on his little face. Beca laughed as did Jesse and the girls. The kid was a mess; definitely had his mother's sarcasm and father's charm.

"Come on pee butt…let's get a dry diaper and watch Doc. Give Daddy kisses."

"Love you little man. Love you too baby." Jesse said kissing them each on the forehead and patting her belly. Beca and Dylan went inside to snuggle and take a well-deserved nap.

* * *

><p>Jesse stayed outside to enjoy beer with the others while the kids played. He had everyone's full undivided attention while he filled them in on the incident that took place at his office. They couldn't believe that Bumper would show his face let alone, have the audacity to use a fake name to secure a meeting with Jesse.<p>

"You're damn lucky she didn't kill him with her bare hands." Stacie said.

"It was close. She was furious."

"I don't blame her." Megan said. "Jesse, you could have died in that accident."

Jesse dropped his head, "I know."

"Think he'll come around again?" Stacie asked.

"Not if he knows what's good for him. She kneed him in his junk twice and slammed his head on the conference room table pretty hard a couple of times before I punched him in his kidney then in his mouth." Jesse told them.

"OUCH!" Adam and Matt yelled as they protected their junk.

"Holy crap!" Megan said. "Why does she do this stuff when I can't watch?"

"It was all recorded on the office surveillance system."

"Really?! I love her SOOO much!" Stacie said.

"Stace…you would have been proud of her." Jesse said.

Stacie was beaming, "Oh, I am!"

"Well…share the video with the class big brother." Megan said.

"I don't have a copy of it…yet, but I will."

"Can't wait…I wanna see." Jenna said.

"It's good, but I have to admit…it was kinda hot watching her like that." Jesse said.

"Dude …seriously?" Adam said.

"What?! I'm in love with my wife."

"That's great and all but I don't need to know that stuff about my brother." Cody said.

"Look…my wife turns me on."

Shaking his head, Adam said, "That's great and we're happy for you but we don't need to know what revs your engine."

"Ok, ok, ok…geez!" Jesse said, "I'm going to go check on Beca. Stace, do you want me to lay Colton in there with them?"

"Sure, if you don't mind."

"Not at all." Jesse took Colton who was already asleep and walked inside. When he walked in their room, Beca and Dylan were all snuggled up asleep, Doc McStuffin's still on the TV. He walked around to his side of the bed put Colton down and placed pillows around him so he wouldn't fall. It would be a long fall since the bed was pretty high, it came up to Beca's waist. She kept a little footstool on her side of the bed just to get in and out. He walked back over to Beca's side of the bed and whispered, "Babe, I just put Colton in bed with you and Dylan."

Without opening her eyes or moving, she mumbled "ok" to acknowledge that she heard him, then reached over Dylan to put a hand on Colton's arm. He kissed her, took the monitor and walked back out of the room.

* * *

><p>"Everything ok?" Stacie asked.<p>

"Oh yeah…all three of them are knocked out."

"Good…they played hard today. Hopefully they'll sleep for a while."

"What do you say we order in some pizzas and have a family game night?" Jesse asked everyone.

"Sounds good to me." Megan and Jenna said, Adam and Cody agreed.

"Stace, you guys staying?"

"No, We don't want to intrude. It's bad enough we busted in on your day for a play date."

"Nonsense!" Sarah said. "Call Bryan and tell him to get his ass over here."

"Ok, ok….you win!" Stacie said as she called Bryan.

"Uncle Jesse..."

"Yes Makenna."

"We drank all of your juice boxes while you and Aunt Beca were at work."

"You did?"

"Yes, but can you get more?"

"Yeah…do you want to go with me?"

"Can Emily come too?"

"Yep…all of you can. Get shoes on and let's go."

"YAY! We're going to the store with Uncle Jesse!" Emily yelled.

"Ems…shhh!" Makenna said, "Aunt Beca and the babies are sleeping."

"Oops...Sorry!" Emily said as she covered her mouth.

Jesse handed Stacie the baby monitor before he loaded up the SUV with all of the kids and went to the store. The rest of the adults decided to take advantage of the quiet by continuing their little happy hour.

* * *

><p>Jesse soon learned that taking four kids to the grocery store was like trying to herd feral cats. As soon as they entered the store they all took off in different directions. They all wanted different things and no matter how many times Jesse told them that they were only there to get juice boxes they asked for everything under the sun and then some. By the time they left the store, each of the kids had picked out a snack to eat while watching the movie, they also picked out snacks for Colton and Dylan. Jesse thought they would never get out of the store and after spending close to $100 on juice boxes, beer, popcorn and candy they were finally on their way.<p>

During the ride home, Emily asked, "Uncle Jesse…do you think Aunt Beca will have her babies before we go back to Georgia?"

"There's a good possibility that could happen." Since they weren't leaving until after the first of the year, there was a real possibility that Beca would have the babies before they left. Jesse started thinking that it really would be nice if she had the babies while everyone was in town but on the other hand, with so many people in the house it would be total chaos.

"Well…I want her to."

"You do?" Jesse asked.

"Yeah…me too. I'm gonna ask Santa to bring those babies." Makenna said.

"It doesn't work like that you cuckoo bird." Tyler told her. Makenna's feelings were hurt and her poor little eyes filled with tears.

"Tyler Anthony Swanson…what have I told you about being nice to your sister?" Jesse asked sternly. Suddenly everyone got quiet. Uncle Jesse was the fun uncle but when he used your full name you knew darn good and well that you were in big trouble. Tyler dropped his head. "Sorry Makenna."

"It's ok Ty…I love you and I'm still asking Santa to bring the babies!" she said with a smile.

* * *

><p>When they pulled into the garage, Jesse told all the kids to wait as he pulled Tyler to the side. He gave Tyler a quick pep talk then told him he needed to give Makenna a hug and apologize to her again for hurting her feelings. When Tyler was done, they all walked into the house together, smiles on their faces and loot in their hands.<p>

"What took so long?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah," Jenna said, "Get lost?"

"No…going to the grocery with four kids going in four different directions is a true test of endurance."

Laughing at him, Adam asked, "So, how much did they convince you to buy?"

"Dad, we got Twizzlers, M&M's, Reese's pieces, gummy bears, sour patch kids, pretzels, popcorn, chips, ice cream and juice boxes. It was awesome!" Tyler said.

"Jesus Jesse…are you trying to make them all overweight diabetics?" Jenna asked as she unloaded the bags.

"Hey! I got more beer too and besides it's not all for tonight. Look at those sweet little faces…how was I supposed to say no?"

"Dude, you better learn that word and quick. You have one here and two more are on the way. The word 'No' needs to be part of your everyday vocabulary." Cody told him.

"I know…but it's hard." He said walking toward his bedroom. They continued talking while Jesse went in to check on Beca and the boys. When he walked in Colton was sitting up, Dylan was awake but still laying down and Beca was still out cold. Dylan wasn't quite ready to get up yet, so he changed Colton's diaper then took him back into the family room to join the others. It wasn't long before Dylan had gone back to sleep.

Bryan had finally made it over after finishing up with a client, so he and the rest of the guys went downstairs to play pool and foosball, while the girls took the kids for a short walk to the park.

* * *

><p>When the girls got back it was dinnertime and the kids were begging Jesse to order pizza. Jesse was placing the order when Beca walked up behind him and wrapped him in a big hug. "Hey babe."<p>

"Hey…did you have a good nap?" he asked taking Dylan. Dylan immediately snuggled into his chest and put his head in the crook of Jesse's neck.

"Yeah…I feel much better. I can't believe we both slept that long."

"You needed it."

"Hey there gangsta!" Adam said to Beca.

She laughed, "What?"

"We heard about your mad gangsta skills." Cody said.

"Oh...that. I didn't rough him up too bad."

"That's not what we heard." Stacie said, "We heard that you bashed his skull in, ripped his junk off, forced fed it to him, made him shit it out then put it in a jar and took his man card."

"He would have to have a man card in order to take it from him. Speaking of, I need to go call Amy….I've got to make arrangements to give her that jar!" She winked before grabbing Stacie's hand and going into the bedroom to get her phone. Beca facetimed Amy to tell her what happened with Bumper, "Aww Shawshank…you did all that for little ol' me?"

"For you and the rest of mankind! He's a pompous, arrogant son of a bitch that deserved a lot more than what I did to him." Beca said.

Amy chuckled, "I'm sure he had no idea what hit him."

"No, he didn't Amy. I just can't wait to hear his jailhouse stories about Bubba taking his sorry ass to the prom!"

"Shawshank...that's awesome!"

"Oh crap! I forgot to warn him not to drop the soap!" Beca said. Amy and Stacie laughed uncontrollably.

"Guess he'll find out soon enough." Amy said still giggling.

"Hey Amy…Jess said he has video. We're going to have a viewing party when he gets a copy!" Stacie told her. Beca rolled her eyes.

"Gotta love that Treble! Count me in...I wanna see it!" Amy told them.

Jesse walked in the bedroom, "Hey babe...pizzas here."

"Ok. Y'all get started. We'll be out in a minute." Beca told him.

"Well Ames...we have to go, Jess just came in and said the pizza is here."

"Ok…talk to you guys soon."

"We love you Amy! Wish you were here."

"Maybe next time. Love you too! Muah!"

After eating dinner, the kids bathed and put their jammies on before going down to the media room. They had a great time playing games and loading up on all the crap the kids convinced Jesse to buy at the grocery. After playing chicken foot (dominoes) and Disney's Scene It, the kids decided they wanted to karaoke. Beca wanted no part of but it actually turned out to be quite entertaining, especially since most of the adults had been drinking for some time.

After singing and dancing around for awhile, the guys helped the kids build a fort. Jesse put a movie on for the kids while the adults went back upstairs to continue happy hour; which clearly was no longer happy hour but more like happy hours. It didn't matter though, they were all having a great time, enjoying each others company and looking forward to the holidays. Beca and Jesse had missed all the family togetherness. As much as Beca tried to protect them, maybe family is what they needed all along.

* * *

><p>AN:

"You Spin Me Right Round" by Flo Rida

"Afternoon Delight" by Starland Vocal Band - This is a song from 1976. Heard it on satellite radio the other day at the mall and almost peed my pants from laughing so hard. It sounded like a song Jesse would know so I had to find a place to fit in this story.


	18. Chapter 18

Christmas was finally upon them however, this Christmas would be much different than ones in the past. Chloe and Josh were taking Nick back to New York to be with their family, Benji & Jessica were in Arizona with the Applebaum's, Aubrey and Uni planned a special Christmas with the girls and parents at Big Bear Lake and Donald and Lily were going to New Mexico to be with Lily's family. Stacie and Bryan's parents flew in from Atlanta to stay with them for the holidays. Amy and Cynthia Rose said they were going to stay in Vegas. Beca told them they were more than welcome to stay for Christmas but they declined so they could have 'a good ol' fashioned Swanson family Christmas'.

Beca wasn't really surprised that Amy didn't want to stay, she had been in a bit of a mood lately because she and TJ had decided to "take a break". She was trying to play it off like it was no big deal to her, but Beca saw right through it. She knew Amy well enough to know when she was hurting, after all she had been right by Amy's side during the Bumper debacle; someone had to be there to stop her from OD'ing on pizza and donuts. When Beca told Jesse what was going on, he told her that it probably meant good things were going to be happening for them soon. When she asked him to elaborate, he said that it sounded like TJ was experiencing cold feet and was probably trying to wrap his mind around asking Amy to marry him.

She was sure Jesse knew more than he was letting on but decided to just let it go. It wasn't her issue and she refused to turn into Chloe and Aubrey. She was not going to be that meddling friend that had to be in everyone's business. She simply told Amy that she would always be there for her if she needed to talk or if she just wanted to come spend a weekend with them to get away.

* * *

><p>Christmas Eve morning, Jesse was awakened by the sound of Beca yelling from their bathroom. He was sleeping so soundly that he didn't know that she got out of bed. "JESS!" She called, "BABE... Come here!" He immediately sprung into action thinking that her water had broken and she was in labor. He ran into the bathroom only to find that Beca was in the bath tub and she appeared to be perfectly fine.<p>

"Geez babe...did you have to give me a heart attack first thing in the morning."

Beca laughed, "Sorry."

"It's ok." Jesse said giving her a kiss and rubbing her belly as he sat on the side of the tub. "Now...what's wrong?"

"I think we should do some landscaping."

"Landscaping? Really babe?" Jesse said dragging his hand over his face. "I'm not fully awake, I haven't peed or had a cup of coffee."

Beca rolled her eyes, "Jess..."

"Beca, do we really have to talk about the landscaping right now? Especially since it can't be done until spring."

"Yes, we have to talk about it."

"Babe... we can't do anything about the landscaping until the Spring."

Beca splashed in the tub. "Jess!" she said gesturing to her nether region. "Landscaping!"

"OH! Right! Landscaping!" He said embarrassed. "And why do I have to be in here for that?"

"Because I can't see it or reach it anymore and I'd rather not give my self a c-section trying to get it done" she said.

"And you want me to do it?" he asked.

"Yes! It's only been a few days but the babies have dropped and I can't reach. AND... I don't want to scare Debi and Hope by looking like the Forbidden Forest from the Harry Potter movies when it's time to have the babies."

Looking at her in awe, he grinned and shook his head. "What?" she asked.

Jesse chuckled, "I just absolutely love when you make movie references."

"Is that all you got out of what I just said?" Beca said splashing Jesse with water.

"Oh, no...sorry." he said using her towel to dry his face. "Hand me the razor."

Beca handed him the razor. "Please be careful."

* * *

><p>On Christmas morning Beca was officially 37 weeks pregnant. Debi was really pleased with her progress and was shocked that she still wasn't on bed rest. Beca knew when she needed to rest and would unofficially put herself on bed rest if she was over tired or her ankles started to swell but she still had not been ordered to bed rest...yet. As much as she wanted to go all the way to her due date she knew the signs her body was giving her and she knew that wasn't going to happen. She felt she had a week or two at most but not a day more than that.<p>

Beca and Jesse laid in bed listening to Dylan on the baby monitor. He was playing quietly in his room with with Tyler, Gavin, Emily and Makenna. They knew it was time to get up when they heard Makenna ask, "when are they going to open the baby gate so we can see what Santa brought us?" Jesse had installed a baby gate at the top of the stairs to keep Dylan from tumbling down.

"Kenna...quit whining like a baby." Tyler said.

"I'm not a baby!" She yelled.

"Whatever! All Santa left you was lumps of coal anyway. So, what's the rush?"

"Hmmmppp..." She said folding her arms and pouting, "quit being a butthead Tyler!"

Dylan starting laughing, "Ty's a butt-head!" he said emphasizing the 'T'.

"Ok," Jesse said as he rolled out of bed pulling Beca with him, "We've put off getting up as long as we can. That was our cue to open the flood gates and set the little monsters free." After brushing their teeth, they made their way upstairs to Dylan's room.

"Mommy!" Dylan squealed as he ran across his bedroom.

"Good morning baby!" she said scooping him up carefully giving him a quick hug and kiss before laying him on the changing table to change his diaper.

"Good Morning guys." Jesse said, "so, what was this we heard about buttheads and lumps of coal?"

"You heard that?" Tyler asked

Jesse chuckled, "Yes, we heard everything."

"Uncle Jesse," Makenna said with a tears in her eyes, "Tyler said Santa left me coal for Christmas."

"And she called me a butthead." Tyler said. "So, I think that makes us even."

"Ty...you need to be nice to your sister." Jesse told him. "And Makenna...I can promise you Santa did not leave you lumps of coal."

Tyler pouted. "I was just trying to be funny."

"Well, she didn't take it that way."

"It's Christmas, you guys really need to get along." Jesse said as the doorbell rang. "Tell your each other you're sorry and give hugs."

"Sorry Kenna."

"Sorry Ty."

"Jess, I'll get the door. You make sure everyone is awake and meet us downstairs." Beca waddled down the stairs with Dylan in tow. When she opened the front door there were four very eager grandparents armed with donuts, coffee, chocolate milk and most importantly...presents. They couldn't wait to come in and watch as their grandchildren opened their Christmas gifts. Dylan yelled "Papa!"

"Merry Christmas Sport!" David said scooping him up and kissing Beca's cheek. It was about that time when everyone came downstairs to start unwrapping gifts. The family room was complete and utter chaos. Jesse decided to separate the kids into different spots around the family room so that when they started handing out the gifts nobody's "piles of gifts overlapped". Grace and Sheila were in the kitchen drinking coffee and baking cinnamon rolls, because even though they brought donuts, cinnamon rolls were a Christmas tradition.

"Poor Beca looks exhausted." Grace told Sheila.

"She does...but I swear she's like the energizer bunny, she just keeps going." Sheila said as she sipped her coffee.

"She says she's sleeping well which is surprising." Grace said, "By the time I was that far along, I don't think I slept at all and I wasn't carrying twins."

"She's blessed. Jesse is really good about taking care of Dylan so that she gets enough rest. You raised a good boy Grace." Sheila said, "Jesse has been a Godsend for her."

Of course, it was easy for their parents to say these things because besides Beca and Jesse, Benji was the only person who knew about Jesse's night terrors or the abuse that occurred because of them. If Beca and Jesse had their way it was going to stay that way. No one else needed to know.

"Thanks Sheila." Grace said as she watched the chaos in the family room.

"Whadda say we go join the craziness?" Sheila asked her as she motioned with her head.

"Let's do it."

When Jesse was finished handing out all of the gifts, he sat next to Beca and Dylan so they could start unwrapping. The kids went wild opening their gifts. There was wrapping paper, gift bags, tissue and boxes everywhere. Dylan was excited because he not only got to open his own presents but he got to open presents that were for Ava and Brody as well since they hadn't made their appearance yet.

Unwrapping gifts seemed to take forever, especially with a family the size of the Swanson's. The gifts were never ending. Swanson tradition was that no gift should be opened prior to Christmas morning, so they not only had Santa gifts to unwrap but gifts from everyone else as well. They actually had to take a break and eat breakfast before unwrapping the rest of the gifts.

* * *

><p>After the last presents were finally unwrapped, they decided to start making paper balls out of the mounds of wrapping paper. A wrapping paper war was started by Jesse and his brothers in the family room. It wasn't long before the kids joined in. Everyone was having a great time. The kids almost seemed to enjoy the wrapping paper war more than their actual gifts, it kept them busy for an hour or more and the smiles on their little faces could have lit up the entire room.<p>

Beca liked this. She liked that Christmas was just their family. While she loved their friends, she loved this so much more. Jesse saw her stand back watching the action. He walked up behind her, rubbing her bump and kissed her cheek. "Whatcha thinkin' about gorgeous?"

"Just how fun all of this is." she said. "Look at Dylan. He's having the best time and all they're doing is throwing paper around."

"I know. His sweet little face is gonna crack if he smiles any bigger." Jesse said, "You're right, this is nice. I love our friends but this has been really great."

"I wish it could be like this all the time."

"Me too...feels like Brody and Ava want in on all this action."

"Yeah, I think so." she said turning in his arms so she could kiss him. "Merry Christmas Babe."

"Merry Christmas Baby...I love you."

"Love you more." she said kissing him again.

"Aunt Beca and Uncle Jesse sittin' in a tree...K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Tyler and Makenna sang. Gavin and Emily soon joined in. Everyone laughed as they blushed.

"Mommy hold me!" Dylan said holding his arms up.

"C'mere buddy." Jesse told him. "I'll hold you."

"No...Mommy."

"Mommy is tired and the babies make it hard for her to hold you." Jesse tried to reason with him.

"They need to get out of dere...NOW!" Dylan pouted as he allowed Jesse to hold him. Everyone started laughing but he was serious. He wanted the babies out just as much if not more than Beca did. Beca felt awful as she rubbed Dylan's back. She wanted nothing more than to hold her baby but her energy was zapped and she didn't want to chance dropping him.

Dylan put his face in the crook of Jesse's neck and started to suck on his knuckle, which Beca and Jesse both knew meant he was ready for a nap. He only sucked his knuckle when he was extremely tired. "Come on Bud...let's get you and Mommy in bed for a nap." Beca followed Jesse into their bedroom. Jesse put Disney Jr. on the TV, kissed them both then went back to the family room. Beca snuggled with Dylan and fell asleep pretty quickly, Dylan wasn't too far behind.

* * *

><p>"Is Beca ok?" Grace asked Jesse.<p>

"Yeah Ma, she's just really tired and Dylan was ready for his nap."

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Just get the kids to clean up this mess, pointing to all of the wrapping paper and packages laying around the family room, and maybe get them play outside for awhile."

"You got it."

"I'm going up to the babies rooms with Adam and Cody to paint."

"Ok honey." Grace said. "Sheila, can you help round up the kids so we can get this mess cleaned up?"

"Sure, no problem."

* * *

><p>While Grace and Sheila rounded up the kids and made them clean up all the wrapping paper and organize all of their things in the family room, Jesse and his brothers were painting the babies rooms.<p>

Beca wanted a chair rail in babies rooms and she wanted to paint the wall under the chair rail to look like piano keys. In Ava's room the walls above the chair rail would be painted a pale pink; her bedding was several different shades of pink, white and black with swirls and butterflies on it. It was simple and understated but very girly.

In Brody's room the walls above the chair rail would be painted a warm taupe. She didn't want to paint his room blue since Dylan's room was blue. Brody's bedding was pale blue, white and brown with music notes and instruments on it.

While Cody got busy painting the lowers walls to look like piano keys, Jesse asked his brother Adam, who is an amazing artist, to paint music notes and butterflies on the wall above the chair rail in Ava's room. Adam suddenly had an idea. He asked Jesse what song he thought he would sing to Ava once she was born. Jesse immediately answered, "Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder. Adam quickly looked the chords and lyrics up online and got to work sketching them free hand on the wall before painting them. Jesse couldn't believe it, Adam never ceased to amaze him.

Adam asked Jesse the same question when they were in Brody's room. Jesse had to think about it a little longer before finally choosing "Forever Young" by Bob Dylan. Once again, Adam looked the chords and lyrics up online and got to work sketching them free hand on the wall before painting them. After the babies were born, Adam said he would paint their names on the their bedroom wall above their cribs. Jesse and Adam had taken's Beca's vision and idea for the nurseries and run with it. Jesse couldn't wait for her to see the rooms.

Not wanting Dylan to feel left out, Jesse had Adam paint Dylan's name and the music lyrics and chords to the song "Beautiful Boy" by John Lennon, the song he always sang to him, on the wall in his room. There wasn't a room in their house that hadn't been touched by their love of music or Adam's artwork and calligraphy. What Beca didn't know was that Jesse and Adam were already working on their next project...her Mother's Day gift. Sure it was a ways off and it was going to take some time to get everything done but Jesse was sure she would love it.

When Beca saw the nurseries she fell in love. Jesse, Cody and Adam had done such a beautiful job. She told Jesse that she decided to have something special made for each of the kids. When he asked what more could they possibly need, she showed him the silver picture frames she had engraved for each of them. Each frame had their ultrasound picture, their name and a quote that said:

_"No one will ever know the strength of my Love for you because __you're the only one who knows what my Heart sounds like from inside. 'I'll love_ _you forever,_ _I'll like you for always. As long as I'm living My baby you'll be.' __Love Always and Forever, Mommy"_

Jesse was touched when he saw the frames and immediately put Dylan's in his room on his chest of drawers. They decided not to put Ava and Brody's in their rooms yet as they still had not revealed their names to their family yet. Now that the nurseries were painted and set up, the babies could officially come when they were ready.

* * *

><p>Jesse, Beca and Dylan were enjoying having their family in town for the holidays. Christmas had been a huge success and since everyone was staying through the New Year, they made plans to spend New Years Eve and New Years Day in downtown LA. Jesse even arranged to get a block of hotel rooms for them but he suddenly had a feeling that he, Beca and Dylan weren't going anywhere. New Years day would mark the 38 week mark of her pregnancy and if he was honest, he was surprised that she had made it this far especially given everything that had happened over the last few months.<p>

The kids were getting excited about going downtown the next day and couldn't wait to see the huge fireworks display. Everyone was planning to leave in the morning after breakfast. They would go to the Children's Museum for a few hours before checking in to the hotel, resting for a little while then heading over to Universal City Walk for the entertainment and fireworks show.

Beca and Dylan slept through lunch and into the afternoon. Jesse stood at the foot of the bed and watched as they both slept so peacefully. He had a feeling she would be having the babies in the next few days. When they finally woke up, Beca could hear everyone outside playing in the yard. She changed Dylan's diaper and got him dressed before getting dressed herself. She carried Dylan, his face nuzzled in her neck, out of their bedroom and into the family room just as Jesse was coming into the house.

Walking toward her he said, "Hey babe"

"Hey." she said sleepily.

"Let me take him." Jesse said as he took Dylan. Dylan put his arms around Jesse's neck.

"Daddy...can I have some juice?"

"Sure thing little man."

Jesse took Dylan in the kitchen and Beca sat in the recliner. She was still really tired but knew she needed to try to stay awake at least long enough to eat something. She heard Jesse tell Dylan, "let's go see Mommy." He handed her a glass of water and sat on the couch. Dylan crawled over the arm of the sofa and the recliner to get into her lap.

"You feeling ok?"

"Yeah, I feel fine. I'm just still really tired."

"We're staying home for New Years aren't we?"

"Yeah, I think the babies will be here or at least well on their way by then."

"What do you want to do with our hotel room?"

"Stacie and Bryan might like to go." She said. "Offer it to them."

"I'll call Bryan in a few minutes." Jesse told her. "Dylan, do you want to go outside and play?"

"No...I stay wiff Mommy." he said drinking from his sippy cup.

"Dylan...I'm going outside for a little while." Beca told him

"Ok" he said getting off her lap and grabbing her hand to help her up.

Dylan took off running as soon as they walked outside. He laughed and played with the kids while Beca and Jesse visited with everyone else. They told them that Bryan and Stacie were going to take their hotel room for New Years because they wanted to stay close to home in the event Beca went into labor. Luckily everyone completely understood and even if they didn't things weren't going to change. They weren't asking for permission from anyone, they made their decision. Beca knew her body and it was telling her that she needed to slow down. She also thought the babies would be here by the time their family got back from ringing in the New Year. Only time would time would tell if she was right.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: **Typically I wouldn't post this until much later today (it's almost 4am here) but I've just gotten home from Honky Tonkin' and may be sportin' quite the hangover later (#ButteryNipples, #WaterMoccasins, #Starfuckers. Thank goodness for Taco Bell, Red Gatorade and Advil!) and didn't want to miss posting my little contribution to _**SMUT SUNDAY**_! So, here it is...Hope you like it! ;)

* * *

><p><strong><span>New Years Eve<span>**

Everyone ate breakfast and loaded up to go downtown for the next couple of days. Once they all left Beca started cleaning everything in site. Even though the housekeeper had been there just the day before Beca didn't feel it was clean enough. She was nesting and though she hadn't had much energy lately, she definitely had energy now and she was making up for her previous laziness.

Jesse spent the better part of the day trying to keep Dylan out of Beca's way. She was on a cleaning frenzy and it was much easier to just stay out of the way then it was to try to help. He and Dylan spent the latter part of the morning in the yard playing with Laney and doing some light yard work. After eating lunch, Jesse put Dylan down for his nap and started watching the football game. When Beca saw what he was doing, she stood in front of the TV, blocking his view.

"Babe, you're blocking the TV." Jesse huffed leaning to the side to see the TV.

"I know." She said taking the remote to turn it off.

"Hey! What did you do that for?"

"Jess...I'm tired of being pregnant."

Jesse rubbed his face because he knew she was going to hate him for what he was about to say, "I know you are, but the babies will come when they're ready."

Debi told her a two days prior that she was only two centimeters dilated and the babies were holding strong. They weren't stressed and seemed cozy and happy right where they were. Debi also told them that Beca just might make it to her due date after all. That was not what Beca wanted or needed to hear.

"Well...I'm ready NOW!" she said folding her arms over her chest which accentuated her breasts which had grown quite a bit.

Jesse sighed "I know but there's nothing I can do about it."

"Yes, there is." she said. "And you will."

Jesse looked puzzled, "I'm not sure I follow."

"Well my love, you're going to help me serve these two (pointing to her belly) with their eviction notice. It's time they move out of my body and into this house." With that she started to undress as she walked toward their bedroom leaving a trail of clothes along the way.

"What?!"

"I can't believe I have to say this." She said, turning to look over her shoulder as she reached behind her back to unclasp her bra, "Jess, get naked...NOW!"

She didn't have to tell him twice. He grinned and quickly got off the couch to follow her before doubling back to grab something on his way out of the room.

* * *

><p>Jesse decided now was the time to return the favor from a few days earlier. He walked into their room and Beca was already in bed waiting for him. She watched as he put the peppermint in his mouth and crawled into bed with her. She knew what was coming.<p>

Jesse laid next to her, showering her with kisses as he teased her with his fingers. He knew she wanted and needed to feel what he had a few days earlier but he was going to make her wait just a few more minutes. His thumb rubbed circles on her clit as he kissed his way down her body. He positioned himself between her legs and as he took her into his mouth she gasped. She could feel his tongue on all of her folds and the mint in his mouth added a mind blowing intensity that she had been waiting and wanting to feel.

She was wiggling wildly, she swore that her legs and feet were rubbing holes into her favorite bamboo sheets, even moaning was a struggle. What he was doing to her with his mouth was simply indescribable and absolutely amazing. Her hands found their way into his hair and she guided him right where she wanted him and after what she had done for him a few days earlier, he was more than willing to oblige. She could feel her legs and her insides shaking uncontrollably and breathing was beginning to become a problem for her as well. The babies were moving all around, well as much as they could with as little room as they had.

When Jesse realized that she was having trouble breathing, he slowed down. Beca responded by saying, "Babe...if...you slow... Oh My God!" she yelled when he sucked her clit which was extremely sensitive. He slowed again, she smacked the bed and said, "Damnit! Oh...my...If you...do...that...again..." she had to catch her breath.

"What are you going to do to me?" Jesse stopped to ask her, an evil grin on his face.

Her hand found it's way into his hair and she shoved him back where she wanted him to be. "I'm gonna...rip...your balls offffffff and... AHHH!"

Jesse chuckled "And what?"

"And...I'm gonna...shove themmmm...mmmm...down your...throat...SLOWLY!" Jesse continued to chuckle but did what he was told to do for fear that she would actually follow through with her threat and he happened to like his ball right where they were. His head was now trapped in the vice that was her thighs, his punishment for laughing at her a few minutes prior. When she loosened her grip, he sweetly kissed the insides of her thighs and the underside of her belly, knowing she was starting to come down off her multiple orgasms. "Jess...I need you inside of me. Now!"

Jesse rolled over onto his back so Beca could straddle him. She rode him hard and fast, enjoying every moment until Jesse just couldn't stand it any longer. Her belly, while not big, prevented him from being able to participate the way he really wanted to. He loved making love to his wife, but he hated that she was doing all the work. He was more than willing and able to please her and knew exactly what to do. He decided it was time that he took matters into his own hands and other body parts. He gently rolled her over and began to thrust in and out of her while she moved wildly beneath him. When he pulled out, her eyes shot open.

"Babe...I'mmmm not...done...yet." she managed to get out.

"Oh, I know." he said taking her hands to help her sit up "Get on all fours." he said before playfully smacking her bottom.

She smiled. He knew what to do to take her over the edge. As she got on all fours, he thrust into her from behind. His hands roamed her body. He could feel her body shaking as she rocked back and forth riding the waves of yet another orgasm. Making love this way allowed him to hit her sweet spot in a completely different way. It was more intense and pleasurable. When he felt her go limp after her multiple orgasms, he finally allowed himself release, after all this was about her not him.

They both collapsed onto the bed fighting to catch their breath. Beca was laying on Jesse's chest when he reached over for his phone to check the time. When he showed Beca what time it was she said, "Sweet Jesus...we were at it for almost two hours. I sure hope these two take the hint." as she rubbed her belly.

Jesse laughed, "They'll come when they're ready."

Beca smacked his chest, "Please stop saying that! I'll be 38 weeks tomorrow. I want them here."

"I know baby...I know. It won't be much longer."

"I just want to hold my babies. I need them here."

"Mommy! Dad-dee!"

"Well...party's over, time to get up. Baby number one is awake from his nap and wants his mommy." Jesse said as he put his t-shirt and jeans on and made his way upstairs to Dylan's room. By the time he changed Dylan's diaper and got back downstairs Beca was dressed, the stereo was thumping and she was back to cleaning their already immaculate house.

"Hey...I'm gonna run to the grocery for a few things since they're closed tomorrow. I shouldn't be too long."

"Ok...we'll be fine." She sat in the recliner as Jesse put Dylan in her lap.

* * *

><p>While he was gone, Dylan and Beca decided to have a dance party. When he got home, 'Blurred Lines' was blasting through the speakers and Beca and Dylan were dancing around the family room.<p>

"Hey, hey, hey!" Beca said.

"Hey, hey, hey." Dylan parroted as he danced with Beca.

Jesse leaned against the wall and watched as they danced. He had been watching them for several minutes when Dylan finally noticed him and said, "dance party Daddy! Come on!

"Jesse smiled and happily joined the party. They were all having a great time.

When the song ended, Dylan said "Mommy...I wanna hear frif shop!" Beca walked across the room to her ipod to find the song.

"Did he seriously just ask to hear Thrift Shop?"

Beca laughed, "He knows good music when he hears it."

"I can't believe we let our two year old listen to this stuff."

"Jess...it's music. He's learning to express himself."

"I know but Thrift Shop?" Beca rolled her eyes as she hit play.

When the song came on Dylan started singing, "pop some tags." Jesse just shook his head and smiled, what could he say, Beca was right, he was expressing himself through music. Beca danced with him until the songs ended. When the buzzer on the dryer went off, she switched loads and started folding clothes while Jesse held down Dylan's dance party.

Jesse tried putting more age appropriate music on and Dylan protested loudly, saying "NO!" Then he mumbled something Jesse didn't understand. Beca looked at Jesse and said, "He said Gangham Style."

"I'm glad you understood what he said because it sounded like a jumbled mess to me." Jesse found the song on Beca's ipod and pressed play. He was surprised to see that Dylan knew the dance moves. At the end of the song, Jesse said "Ok, let's turn it off."

"No...free more." Dylan said trying to hold three chubby fingers up.

"One more and that's it." Jesse said holding one finger up.

"No...free!" Dylan pouted. "Free babies (pointing to himself and Beca's belly) and free songs"

"Jess...he's having fun."

"Yeah Jess...I havin' fun!" Dylan said crossing his arms over his chest. Beca laughed because Dylan called him Jess, though the look on Jesse's face wasn't an amused one.

"Ok, ok...three more and that's it." Jesse said. "What do you want to listen to?" Before Dylan could answer, 'Talk Dirty to Me' by Jason DeRulo came on. Jesse tried to change it, Dylan said "No Daddy...leaf it." Jesse looked at Beca, "Seriously?!"

"Let it go." Beca said dancing with Dylan again. "He's having a good time. We've done this almost everyday for the last several weeks."

"Really?"

"Yeah, we needed to do something to stay occupied that would allow me to stay close to you but still entertain him. I was getting tired of watching Disney Jr. all the time."

"Ok..." Jesse said. "What's next Dylan?"

"Happy!" Dylan said.

Jesse turned to Beca with a puzzled look. "You know...'Happy' by Pharrell...Depicable Me 2?!" Beca said.

"Oh...right."

"Geez! Dylan...Daddy's losing it!" she said spinning Dylan around.

Dylan laughed, "Yeah Daddy, you losin' it!"

"Oh yeah?! We'll just see about that." Jesse pressed play on the ipod and scooped Dylan up to dance. Jesse started singing, _"Because I'm happy! Clap your hands if you feel like a room without a roof. Because I'm happy! Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth. Because I'm happy! Clap along if you know what happiness is to you! Because I'm happy! Clap along if you feel like that's what you wanna do!"_

Dylan was dancing and clapping when he looked at Beca, "He found it! Daddy found it!"

She laughed, recording the moment on her cellphone, "Yeah...he did!"

"Mommy dance!" Dylan grabbed her hand so she could dance for the rest of the song with him. She was pretty sure they had the cutest kid on the planet. He was absolutely perfect in every way possible. She fell more and more in love with him everyday.

"Ok, D-man...last song"

"It's not the last song." Dylan said.

"But it is little man." Dylan pouted.

"Jess...in all fairness, he didn't pick "Talk Dirty", it just came on."

"That's a mere technicality, but I guess I've been caught in a loop hole by this amazingly handsome little fella." Jesse said tickling Dylan. "Two more songs and that's absolutely it, ok?"

"Ok... I want Dafff Punt "Get Lucky". Dylan announced. Beca laughed because Dylan always pronouced it wrong . Her assistant Whitney introduced him to Daft Punk one afternoon while Beca was in a meeting. He loved it and since then he always asked Whitney to dance with him to their songs.

The song ended and Jesse looked over at Dylan. Dylan was tapping his index finger on his chin thinking about his last song choice of the day.

Jesse chuckled, "Make it a good one!"

"Party Rock!" Beca laughed as she watched Dylan dancing around the room, Jesse shook his head when Dylan started singing "shufflin', shufflin'."

She sat this one out, opting to sit on the couch and fold baby clothes while she watched Jesse and Dylan dance around to the last request of his New Years Eve dance party. They were having a great time. Once she sat still, she started feeling some twinges but figured that between their earlier activities and Dylan's dance party she had over exerted herself and attributed it to being tired so she didn't say anything.

* * *

><p>Jesse turned the music off and started tweaking a piece he'd been working on all week. Dylan took to following Beca around the house with her ipod like a lost puppy. They listened to music while he played at her feet as she hung clothes in her closet. They chatted, sang and he told her about the cars his was playing with. While she was hanging some of Jesse's work clothes she felt a pop and knew immediately that her water broke. Trying not to panic or alarm Dylan in any way she asked, "Can you go get Daddy?" She was silently thankful they decided to put hardwood floors in the closet, if they had put carpet in there they would have had to rip it out.<p>

"Yes." Dylan got up and scurried off but came back quick. "He's not dere."

"Can you check the studio for me?" she asked him.

"Ok." Dylan said running off again. The pain brought her to her knees. She had been feeling twinges all afternoon but dismissed them because they didn't feel anything like what she experienced when she was in labor with Dylan.

"Hi Daddy." Dylan said walking into the studio.

"Hey bud."

"Come see Mommy."

"Where is she?"

"In her room."

"Ok...let's go." Jesse said scooping Dylan up. When he walked into their room she wasn't there. "Dude...where's Mommy?"

"In dere." he said pointing toward the closet.

"Hey Babe. What's up?" he said as he walked in the closet. He noticed that she was sitting on her feet and cleaning the floor with a towel. "What are you doing on the floor?"

"My water broke."

"Oh..." he said as his eyes got big. Shit was starting to get real.

"Please call Debi."

"Ok...but let's get you up off the floor first." he said reached down to help her up.

"Help me into the shower."

Dylan pointed to himself, "I take a shower too."

"No, not this time. It's Mommy's turn."

"It's ok...he can get in. Can you just mop the floor in the closet?"

"Yeah." Jesse helped her in the shower then called Debi. He was certain that Debi had other things she would rather be doing on New Years Eve but it looked like she was going to be delivering babies instead.

* * *

><p>Jesse told Beca that Debi and Hope were on their way then he helped them out of the shower and settled in bed. Dylan wouldn't leave Beca's side which Jesse thought may get sticky when it came time to actually deliver. On any normal day it should have taken Debi and Hope about 30 minutes to get to their house but because it was New Years Eve, traffic was awful and everything was gridlocked. It took Debi a couple of hours to get to their house but she stayed in contact with them during her entire commute.<p>

Jesse timed the contractions, patting the sweat from her brow and making sure she was staying hydrated, so far she was doing very well. She was experiencing mild discomfort but nothing to really complain about. He managed to coax Dylan out of bed for a late dinner with the promise of ice cream with M&M's on it, if he ate at the table. After dinner he was right back in bed with Beca, which luckily she didn't seem to mind. They snuggled, read books, played games on the ipad and watched TV.

Dylan was totally wired. They were hoping he would fall asleep before labor started getting more intense, but no such luck. He wanted to be right in the middle of the action. He was so excited to see the babies and kept asking, "When dey comin'?" Like all other two year olds who were told mommy's having a baby, Dylan thought that they were just going to show up, knock on the front door and have a play date.

* * *

><p>When Beca decided she was ready to get in the tub a couple of hours later, Dylan got in the tub too but he told her he had to have his swimsuit and floaties on. Jesse took pictures to document the birth, careful not to expose Beca but making sure to get Dylan with his swim gear on. He splashed around in the warm water and played with bath toys before eventually attaching himself to Beca like a little spider monkey. Jesse was beginning to wonder how this birth was going to play out if they couldn't get Dylan out of the tub. Debi assured him that everything Dylan was doing was normal and that it was all ok. Beca held him for as long as she could until her labor would no longer allow it.<p>

It was getting really late and things were starting to progress quickly so Hope took Dylan into the bedroom to watch Ryan Seacrest's New Year's special on TV. She had to lure him out with popcorn which they didn't usually let him have this late but Beca was in a 'whatever works' frame of mind and couldn't be bothered by what he was eating at the moment.

Jesse was in the tub with her now, her rubbing her back, shoulders, hips and bump while she breathed through contractions. She leaned her head back on his shoulder while he whispered many, many I love you's and words of encouragement. It wasn't long before Debi finally told her she could start pushing when she was ready. She was ready to get this over with and hold her babies. At ten minutes to Midnight and after almost seven hours of labor she started pushing.

Brody William arrived at exactly 12:01am on New Years day. He weighed 5 pounds and measured 18 inches long. He had a very strong set of lungs and looked just like Dylan did when he was born. Beca held him throughout her labor for Ava. Little Miss. Ava decided that she was going to take her sweet time by showing everyone who was boss and that she wasn't going to come until she was good and ready. Apparently she was more than happy to stay warm and happy right where she was. "Come on baby girl... come out." Beca repeated over and over as she rubbed her belly. "Come out my sweet baby girl."

At 12:23am, exactly twenty two minutes after Brody arrived, Ava Kathryn finally made her debut. She came in calmly and quietly, unlike Brody who wailed from the moment he took his first breath. She weighed in at 4 pounds 7 ounces and measured 16.5 inches long. She was the tiniest, most perfect little princess and looked just like Beca. Both babies were small but they were very healthy.

When Dylan heard the babies crying he told Hope, "Dats my babies in dere." Then took off running to the bathroom door. He was chomping at the bit to meet them and started beating on the door, "Mommy, Daddy...I want in!" he yelled.

"Just a minute buddy." Jesse told him.

Beca laid her head back on the tub and told Jesse to let Dylan in. He saw Beca holding the babies and said he wanted to get in the tub to hold "his babies". Jesse let him kiss Beca and the babies but told him that he couldn't get in the tub and that he could hold the babies in a few minutes, which seemed to pacify him. Jesse carefully got Beca out of the tub and into the shower while Debi checked the babies out more thoroughly.

"I want my Mommy." he started to cry. Jesse opened the door and told Dylan to go get in bed because "Mommy's coming out with the babies." Dylan got on the bed he started jumping, Jesse had no idea where his energy was coming from. With both babies on her chest, Beca walked in the bedroom. Jesse and Debi helped her into bed and when she was settled, Dylan leaned over to get a closer look. "I love dem." he told Beca as he snuggled into her side. He was totally enamored by the babies. He kept kissing their heads and telling them that he loved them.

Debi took a photo of the new family of five for Jesse to send to family and friends. _"Look who decided to join us to celebrate the New Year!"_ his text said. He immediately got a text back from his mom, _"I missed it again! :'("_

Debi and Hope stayed for bit to clean and make sure they would all be ok before leaving and wishing them a Happy New Year. Jesse was sure that he could get Dylan down since all the excitement had died down but he had no such luck. At 3am, he was setting up a playpen in their bedroom for Dylan to sleep in because the babies were sleeping in the bed with them. Well, they thought the babies would sleep, instead they came prepared with their own agenda. That agenda included eating all night long. Their first night as a family of five, Dylan was the only one that slept through the night.

* * *

><p><strong><span>AN 2**: So, there was some smut and Beca finally had the babies...on New Years Day! What a way to ring in the New Year! Poor Grace missed the birth again (don't hate me) but I felt it was necessary for Beca to have the quiet and calm to be able to deliver her babies peacefully, especially after everything she had been through in the months leading up to the delivery. I also felt that they needed and deserved the time as a new family of five to bond privately. Tell me what you think!


	20. Chapter 20

Sorry for the long delay between updates. My computer took a crap and I had to order a new one AND I've been devoting a lot of time to the developing storyline in 'Gonna Make You Love Me' as well. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

><p>The next afternoon their family returned from celebrating the New Year downtown and were very excited to meet the babies. When Jesse heard them enter the house, he peeled Beca and the babies off of him and rushed into the family room.<p>

"Shhh! Beca and the babies are sleeping for the first time since last night. Please God, don't wake them up!"

"Where's Dylan?" Grace asked.

"He's asleep in our room." Jesse told her. "He wouldn't sleep in his crib last night."

Grace hugged her son, "Oh honey, I'm sorry you had a rough night."

"It wasn't really rough. The babies just wanted to nurse almost constantly. Hopefully, tonight they'll give Beca more of a break tonight."

"Maybe she should pump so you can help out more."

"Mom, you know how she feels about that. Besides, they're only a few hours old; even if she was going to pump she's not going to do it now."

"It was just a suggestion."

"I appreciate it but Beca is adamant about breast feeding. She does things her way."

"I love that girl, but damn she's got a hard head."

"Mom…" Jesse gave her 'the look'.

Grace threw he hands up, "Well, if you want I can stay here tonight instead of at the Mitchell's and Dylan can sleep with me downstairs in my room."

"Thanks but he needs to sleep in his bed, in his room."

"Ok fine! Your house, your rules." Grace said with a little hurt in her voice.

"Thank you. I'm going back to bed. You guys can do whatever you want, just please, _please_...stay quiet." Jesse said as he walked quietly back toward their bedroom.

* * *

><p>As he closed the door to their bedroom he walked over to check on Dylan before snuggling in bed with Beca and the babies. He couldn't believe the babies were finally here. Sure they had a rough night, but their nights were bound to get better soon.<p>

He stroked Ava's cheek when she started to stir then rolled over and put her on his bare chest. She had the most beautiful almond shaped eyes, long, dark eyelashes, rosy cheeks and the sweetest little pink lips. She was Beca's perfect little mini-me. If he had to describe her in one a word, she was absolutely gorgeous. Jesse secretly hoped she would stay petite like Beca, not that he had anything against taller women but he loved that his wife was 'fun-sized' and he hoped his perfect pretty little princess was going to be fun-sized too. Ava continued to stir so he started singing to soothe her.

_"Isn't she lovely_  
><em>Isn't she wonderful<em>  
><em>Isn't she precious<em>  
><em>Less than one minute old<em>  
><em>I never thought through love we'd be<em>  
><em>Making one as lovely as she<em>  
><em>But isn't she lovely made from love"<em>

He changed a few of the words, so that the song applied to Ava.

_"Isn't she pretty_  
><em>Truly the angel's best<em>  
><em>Boy, I'm so happy<em>  
><em>We have been heaven blessed<em>  
><em>I can't believe what God has done<em>  
><em>Through us he's given life to one<em>  
><em>But isn't she lovely made from love<em>

_Isn't she lovely_  
><em>Life and love are the same<em>  
><em>Like a Bird<em>  
><em>The meaning of her name<em>  
><em>Beca, it could not have been done<em>  
><em>Without you who conceived the one that's so very lovely made from love"<em>

It wasn't too long before he and Ava joined the rest of their little family for a nap. They were asleep for about an hour when both babies woke hungry and wet. Beca mumbled that she just wanted to sleep but she sat up and nursed like the champ she was.

Dylan woke shortly thereafter and immediately said, "I wanna see my babies." Beca and Jesse were both really happy that he had taken to the babies as well as he had. He seemed to really love them and so far took a genuine interest in them. They planned to let him help by asking to him to do things like bring them burp cloths, blankets, diapers or wipes. They figured that as long as he was helping he would stay interested in his siblings. Jesse changed his diaper and let him get on the bed with Beca while she finished nursing.

He kissed their heads and said, "I love you bubby, I love you sissy."

"Hey! You better get back over here and gimme me kisses." Beca joked with him.

Dylan laughed, "Sorry Mommy." He took her face in his little hands and kissed her all over causing Beca to giggle. "I love you Mommy."

"And I love you more."

"Well, I love you most!" Dylan declared as he jumped on the bed. Beca watched him jump and smiled at his sweet little face. He was a little version of Jesse.

Dylan finally settled down and sat quietly on the bed next to Beca to watch the Macy's Parade while Jesse went to the kitchen to get breakfast for them. He wasn't sure where everyone was but he was glad they weren't in his face at the moment. He prepared their breakfast quickly and brought it back into the bedroom. Dylan immediately sat up, scooted to the foot of the bed and started chowing down on fruit, waffles and Nutella.

"Has everyone gotten back yet?" Beca asked. "Dylan, slow down baby. I don't want you to choke." He turned around and nodded to acknowledge that he heard what she was saying then went back to watching the parade.

"Yeah, couple of hours ago."

"It's pretty quiet out there."

"Yeah, I heard them walk in earlier and told them I didn't care what they did as long as they were quiet."

Beca laughed, "Surprised you didn't threaten to 'release the kraken'."

Before Jesse could answer, Dylan turned to them and said, "Mamie says dat." as he popped a strawberry into his mouth. Dylan always tried to say 'my Aunt Amy' but it came out Mamie and she liked it so it stuck.

"What does Mamie say?" Jesse asked him.

"She says 'release da kraken'." Dylan deadpanned. "And she says Mommy's short stack." Beca laughed until she hurt causing the babies to jump.

"He's _YOUR_ child!" Jesse told Beca as he laughed.

"Daddy…I your child too." Dylan said eating another piece of fruit, never taking his eyes of the TV.

"He definitely has your quick wit and sarcasm." Jesse told Beca.

"Aww…he's my very own little sarcastic ray of sunshine!" Beca proclaimed. "I'm SO proud!"

They continued to lie in bed watching the parade with Dylan and the babies. "So, are you about ready to introduce these two to their crazy family?" Jesse asked as he took Brody from Beca so he could burp him.

"Can I eat first?" she said almost begging.

"Yeah babe…I wasn't suggesting that we open the flood gates right this second."

"Good. When we're finished we'll go sit in the family room." Beca enjoyed her breakfast while her daughter slept comfortably in her arms. She was so tiny but oh so perfect in every way.

"If you're more comfortable in here, they can..."

Beca cut him off, "No...This is our bedroom, our little sanctuary and I don't want the kids all over our bed. Besides, I need to get up and stretch my legs."

"Ok, just thought I'd offer."

"Thank you." she said leaning over to kiss him.

After breakfast, Beca got the babies changed into their "Baby's First New Year" sleepers, while Jesse got Dylan dressed. Beca couldn't help herself; she just had to put a frilly headband on Ava's tiny head. She just looked so darn sweet. When everyone was dressed and ready they went to the family room. Beca and Dylan sat in their oversized recliner with the babies and waited while Jesse went downstairs to get their family.

* * *

><p>Dylan was a very proud big brother and he was taking his role as protector very seriously. He sat in the recliner like he was king of the world, proudly holding "his babies" when everyone came upstairs. When they asked to hold the babies Dylan would tell them "No, dey my babies!" then he would push their hands away. As far as he was concerned, Beca and Jesse could hold the babies but no one else could. Beca tried telling him that everyone wanted a turn to hold the babies but instead of listening he pouted when Grace held Brody and David held Ava. Jesse held Dylan while he pouted into the crook of his neck, until he finally decided that his time would be better spent on the floor playing with his cousins.<p>

"Beca, you look so beautiful honey!" her dad told her as he kissed her cheek.

"Thanks Dad."

"Thank you." he told her.

Beca looked puzzled, "For what?"

"For being you and for giving me the most beautiful grandbabies on the planet. She's tiny just like you were when you were born." Beca smiled. Her relationship with her dad had come a very long way and she couldn't have been happier about it. If it wasn't for her dad and Shelia, she wouldn't have parents in her life and her children wouldn't have their grandparents.

Her mother made it abundantly clear that she didn't agree with her decisions and no longer wanted to be a part of her life. Beca still struggled with that but she knew that she wasn't going to change just because her mother wanted her to. She liked who she was and more importantly who she became because of Jesse and their children.

Everyone sat around enjoying the babies. Of course, they also asked about Beca's labor and how Dylan was during the entire process. Jesse told them that he was wired and wouldn't leave Beca's side, as least not for very long. They were surprised to hear that he was allowed to play in the tub while Beca labored.

"He played in the tub while you were in it laboring?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, at that point I really didn't care. I just wanted the babies out."

"Wow." Megan said, "I just can't imagine trying to give birth with a two year old in the tub with me."

"It's not like it's a standard tub. It's a Jacuzzi tub; four to six adults could fit in that thing comfortably." Jesse told them.

"Yeah, but she was trying to give birth. That's a little different."

"I was in there with her." Jesse said, his sister Megan looked at him weirdly. "What?"

"It's just weird."

"What's weird?"

"You being in the tub with Beca while she's giving birth."

Beca smiled, "Meg...it's actually a very beautiful experience. I wouldn't have my babies any other way."

Poor Grace just sat there listening. She was still upset that she had missed the birth. She knew that even if she had been there that she wouldn't have been in the room but it was the idea that she missed it. She had been at the births of all the other grandkids with the exception of Jesse and Beca's kids. For whatever reason, their kids came in the middle of the night and prepared with their own agendas.

"Mom, maybe you'll make the next birth." Jesse told her.

"The next birth?" Beca said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, can't have an odd number."

"We could still end up with an odd number. We ended up with twins this time or have you forgotten already?"

"I haven't forgotten but I still think we should have at least one more."

Beca laughed, "I'll make you a deal, we can have more babies when you can carry them and shoot them out of your penis." Jesse and his brothers winced, before they all grabbed their junk. Beca motioned to her abdomen, "This baby hotel is closed."

"Geez babe, do you have to be so graphic?"

"I've had 3 babies in less than 3 years. All 3 in are in diapers. Brody and Ava aren't even a day old yet and you're already talking about more babies."

Jesse threw his hands up in surrender, "Ok, you win."

"That's what I thought." She said rolling her eyes.

"Aunt Beca can we sit in your lap?" Makenna and Emily asked.

"Yeah, climb up but be careful." Beca said patting her lap.

When they were settled in Beca's lap, Makenna said, "Aunt Beca, we asked Santa to bring the babies for Christmas but he must have been so busy delivering presents that he forgot."

Tyler mumbled, "Told you Santa couldn't bring them." Jesse popped him in the back of the head. When Tyler turned and made a face at him, Jesse looked around and whistled.

"Aww Kenna, that's really sweet."

"Santa brought'em as soon as he 'membered!" Emily said throwing her arms around Beca's neck.

"Yeah baby, he sure did." Beca agreed.

"Aunt Beca…can we hold the babies now?" Makenna asked.

"Go wash your hands and when you get back you can hold them."

They both jumped down and ran to the bathroom to wash their hands. Beca took the opportunity to get out of the chair for a few minutes. When she started to walk toward Jesse.

"Hey there gangsta…moving a little a slow today." Adam said.

"I just pushed two very precious little watermelons out of a hole the size of a small lemon. I think I'm entitled to a slow day." She said as she wrapped her arms around Jesse's waist and leaned into his side.

Sarah asked Megan, "What is it with Beca and her friends referring to their lady parts as food?"

Megan laughed, "No idea but it'll never stop being funny!"

"Yeah, you're entitled to a slow day but I think I just saw a tortoise pass you." Adam said.

"Screw you!" Beca smiled. "Did you really expect me to run a marathon today?"

"Well no…but if anyone could run a marathon the day after squirting two babies out it would be you."

Beca rolled her eyes, "Thanks...I think there was a compliment in there somewhere."

"You know I always have to give you a hard time."

"Giving me a hard time might just land your cocky ass under a bridge for the rest of your stay if you're not careful." Beca joked. When Adam didn't respond, Beca laughed and said, "Aww…what's wrong Adam, cat got your tongue?!"

"No…my wife just threatened to release the kraken if I didn't shut the hell up." Everyone started laughing.

"Amy would be so proud!" Beca whispered to Jesse.

"Someone wanna share with the class?" Adam asked. "What in the bloody hell is a kraken?"

Beca almost died laughing. "Ask Dylan...he'll tell you." Before Adam could ask, Dylan said, "Mamie says dat. She says 'release da kraken'."

"Who says that?" Adam asked.

Jesse laughed and said, "Our friend Amy, the one from Tasmania."

Dylan sat in his lap and Adam asked, "Ok little man, what's a kraken?"

"I dunno Unca Dude." Dylan said shrugging his shoulders and throwing his hands in the air "but it hurts…makes owies. Bad, bad owies." He said with a straight face as everyone just started laughing uncontrollably. Of course, Dylan had no idea that when Amy said "release the kraken" she was referring to a mythical sea monster from the original 'Clash of the Titans' movie.

Beca was laughing so hard she had to sit back down. Dylan evidentially listened to a lot more than they thought he did. She sent Amy a quick text _**'Dylan's**_** _schooling his Uncle Dude aka Jesse's brother, Adam about releasing the kraken'_. **Amy couldn't have been more proud. She responded, _**"That's so awesome! I love me some little man Dylan! Give him big hugs and kisses for me!" **_Of all of her aca-nieces and nephews, Dylan was her favorite; they weren't even sure who ran a close second though. Dylan was by far, the most outspoken and honest one of the bunch. Wonder where he got that from? Hmm…

Grace brought Ava back to Beca when she started to get fussy. As soon as she placed the baby in her arms, Dylan was crawling in her lap as well. "I hold her Mommy. I hold sissy." As Beca helped Dylan hold Ava, he said, "Mommy, sissy's a pretty priscess just like you."

"Aww, thank you baby." she said kissing him on the top of his head.

"Welcome." He said as he stared very lovingly at his baby sister. He was really being very sweet.

* * *

><p>After dinner everyone continued to visit before deciding to call it a night early since Jesse's family was flying back to Georgia in the morning. He hated to see them go so soon after the babies arrived but he knew that they needed to get back to their routines just as much as he, Beca, Dylan and the babies needed to get into a routine. They also needed to try to get the babies on some kind of schedule and Dylan back upstairs in his bed...the sooner the better.<p>

As Beca lay in bed with Dylan and the babies Jesse showered. When he was finished, he walked into their bedroom to find Beca propped up on pillows watching a movie with both babies asleep on her chest and Dylan asleep with his head in her lap. She had the most content look on her face. He was pretty sure hadn't seen her look happier. When she realized that he was standing in the doorway between their bedroom and bathroom she motioned for him to join them in bed which Jesse gladly did, right after he took a picture to capture her sweet Mommy moment.

Their second night as a family of five seemed to go much better then the first. Dylan still wasn't sleeping in his room but neither Beca nor Jesse had the energy to fight with him about his sleeping arrangements. The good news was that he loved "his babies" and in the grand scheme of things, they couldn't ask for anything more.

* * *

><p>The next afternoon, after getting Jesse's family to the airport, their extended family was planning to come over to meet the newest members of the Swanson family. Everyone was excited to meet the babies and see how Dylan interacted with them. They had all received pictures along with a text that included the babies names and birth weights but seeing them in person was so much more exciting.<p>

After lunch, Jesse and Beca managed to get all three kids down for a nap at the same time which allowed them to get ready for company to come over. Beca was most excited about being able to take a shower and shave uninterrupted. It was the little things in life that mattered most now. She got really excited when she was able to put on a little bit of make-up and do something with her hair before the kids woke up.

Stacie, Bryan and Colton were the first to arrive which was no big surprise especially since they lived next door. When Stacie saw the babies she instantly fell in love.

"Oh my God Beca... Ava is your mini-me! She's so tiny and absolutely gorgeous!" Stacie said as she held the baby girl.

"She is tiny. Most of the time I feel like I'm going to break her."

"Her not break Mommy." Dylan said.

Beca laughed. "I know she won't break baby."

"Why you say dat?"

"Because she's so little."

"Oh...her is little, like Izzy's baby doll."

"That's right, like Izzy's baby doll." Beca said squeezing him. She couldn't believe how big he had gotten or that she was now a Mommy to three babies not just one.

"Somebody's here!" Dylan yelled and took off running, Jesse hot on his heels. "Aunt Bree, Unca Uni!"

"Hey buddy!" Uni said as he scooped Dylan up.

Dylan looked at Uni and said, "Fist bump!"

"So, how it been going?" Stacie asked Beca.

"Well, it's only been a couple of days, but it's going well. They're both really good babies, unless they're hungry, then I become Elsie the cow!" Beca joked.

"That's funny!" Stacie said as Aubrey walked into the family room with presents, while Jesse and Uni talked. Dylan took the girls by the hands and led them across the room to play with him and Colton.

"Oh Beca! They're absolutely gorgeous!" Aubrey said kissing Beca on the cheek before sitting on the couch next to Stacie and Ava.

"Thanks Aub. You wanna hold Brody?"

Aubrey smiled, "I do." she said putting the presents she brought at Beca's feet and taking little Brody into her arms.

Beca reached down to grab the gifts Aubrey brought. There was one for each one of the kids. Beca opened Ava's first. "Aubrey...this is so adorable! How in the world did you have a dress and a headband made for Ava out of Bella scarves?"

"The mother of one of my colleagues makes them. Technically she makes them out of handkerchiefs but I asked if she could make a dress from scarves and she said she could. I love how it came out."

"I love it! It's perfect...she can wear it for Easter." Beca told her. "Jesse look! Ava has a dress made from Bella scarves!"

"Aww...that's awesome babe!" Jesse said with a big smile. "It's gonna look great on her!"

"There's stuff for both boys as well." Aubrey told her. Aubrey managed to find the boys matching outfits that coordinated with Ava's dress. They both got navy blue polo shirts with navy, white and yellow plaid shorts. Beca couldn't wait until Easter; her babies were gonna be the best dressed for sure.

"Babe, we need to get the boys some navy boat shoes." Jesse told her.

"Yeah, that'll look really cute." She agreed.

The rest of the Motley Crew started to arrive and chaos soon ensued. It took Beca a couple of minutes to tell everyone "hello" but as soon as she did, she realized that Chloe, Josh and Nick weren't there. When she asked Jesse if he sent them the text telling them to come over, he double checked his phone and said, "Yeah, they were included in the group text I sent out. I'll be right back." Jesse excused himself to the studio to call Josh but the call went straight to voicemail.

When he rejoined everyone in the family room, Beca asked, "Are they on the way."

"I don't know. I got bitch buttoned."

"Josh sent your call straight to voicemail?"

"Yeah babe, I think there's something going on."

"I know... I'm worried."

The babies were being passed around the family room like a couple of hot potatoes, but surprisingly they didn't seem to mind, that was until it was time to eat. When they got hungry they were sure to let everyone within a 10 mile radius know it. Jesse helped Beca get settled in their bedroom then went back to join everyone else.

"Hey...has anyone heard from Josh and Chloe?" Jesse asked.

"I heard from her Christmas day but nothing since." Aubrey said.

"Same here." Amy said.

"I sent her a Happy New Year text but I didn't get a response." Lily told them.

"This is really weird guys." Cynthia Rose chimed in. "Chloe doesn't just go MIA."

"Neither does Josh." Jesse said scratching the back of his neck.

"So, no one has heard from Josh or Chloe since Christmas?" Jessica asked. Everyone broke out in a chorus of "no's."

Jesse excused himself to check on Beca when he walked in she was nursing both babies and had her cell phone tucked in the crook of her neck.

* * *

><p>"Babe, what are you doing?"<p>

"Trying to call Chloe." Beca said. "But she won't answer. The call just went straight to voicemail. I'm really worried."

"We were all just talking about the same thing." Jesse said taking her phone and placing it on the night stand.

"Jess...I can't shake this feeling that something's not right. Chloe doesn't just ignore all of us. She's always been the one we could all go to with anything." Beca said as she started to cry.

"Babe, don't cry. We'll figure this out." He said as he kissed her forehead.

"She's one of my best friends, something isn't right and there's not a damn thing I can do about it."

"Tell you what...I'll see if the guys want to load up and take a ride over there." Jesse told her as he wiped the tears from her face.

"You'd do that?"

"I'm not crazy about leaving you but we need to find out what's going on." Jesse said walking toward the closet for his shoes. "I'll be back in a little bit. The girls are right outside if you need anything." Jesse said as he kissed her.

"Wait a minute. Help me burp them really quick and put them down for a nap. Jesse burped and changed Ava while Beca burped and changed Brody before putting them both in the bassinet.

* * *

><p>Just as he promised, Jesse and the guys loaded up and headed over to Chloe and Josh's hoping to find out what was going on. The girls stayed at the house with Beca and all of the kids. Everyone was really concerned and worried. Had they made it back from New York? Did they decide to stay longer? If so, why hadn't they returned any of the calls or texts that everyone had been sending. As the old saying goes, 'something was definitely rotten in Denmark" and hopefully the guys would find out what it was.<p>

Jesse called Beca when they got to Josh and Chloe's. He told her that both the cars were there and it looked like there were lights on in the house but no one would answer the door. He also told her that Donald saw, Mrs. Mulligan, one of their neighbors and asked if anyone had seen them. She told them that she collected their mail and newspapers while they were out of town and that Josh picked everything up from her two days ago. She said that he hadn't looked good and that she "hadn't seen hide nor hare of them since."

Mrs. Mulligan always helped them out with Nick. In fact, she said that she was supposed to be watching Nick for a few hours that day but that she hadn't heard from Chloe. When she called, her call went to voicemail and Chloe never brought Nick over. She said that she was also growing very concerned because this was "very un-Chloe like".

The guys thanked Mrs. Mulligan and asked her to let Josh and Chloe know that they had come by. Jesse also gave her his and Beca's cell numbers in case of an emergency or if she noticed anything suspicious or unusual going on around the house.

They all loaded up and headed back even more worried than they were before. At least they knew that they made it back from New York safe but that didn't answer why they had been ignoring everyone. Basically no one in their circle of friends had seen them since a few days before Christmas when they all got together and exchanged gifts.

* * *

><p>Later that evening, after everyone went home and the kids were asleep, Beca sent Chloe a picture of Dylan and the babies with a text, <em><strong>"We missed you today. We love you! XO!"<strong>_

"Jess, she still won't respond." Beca said a few minutes later as she put her head on his chest.

"I know babe. Josh won't either."

"What do we do?"

"We give them their space." he said running his finger through her hair and down her back.

"But..."

"But nothing." Jesse told her. "When you want space everyone gives it to you."

"Not willingly."

"Doesn't matter. We need to respect them and the space they're asking for. They'll come around when they're ready."

"I hate when you're right."

"I love when you admit that I am."

* * *

><p>AN 1: Jesse sang "Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder to Ava.

A/N 2: So this chapter is some fluff mixed in with little funny bits...Dylan is such a funny little kid! He is based off my niece Harleigh Jo who just welcomed her new baby brother Hayden Jase on the 17th. This chapter also starts to touch on the growing concern everyone has for Chloe, Josh and Nick. Next chapter you'll find out what's been going on with them.


	21. Chapter 21

It had been almost two weeks since the babies were born and Chloe still hadn't come by to visit, she hadn't even called or texted, which was extremely odd to say the least. Typically Chloe would be the first one beating down the door to get a peek at a new baby born into their family. Since Beca had twins she thought for sure she'd have to put a shock collar on Chloe just so she wouldn't go completely nuts. Josh and Chloe sent a really nice card and a beautiful bouquet of flowers, layettes for each of the babies and a Build A Bear for Dylan a few days after the babies arrived but otherwise, Beca hadn't heard from her and she was convinced that there was definitely something very wrong.

Beca kept trying to think if she had said or done anything to upset Chloe but she kept coming up empty. She couldn't think of a single thing. Sure she had been extremely preoccupied with Jesse's recovery and taking care of Dylan and she was keeping herself really busy with things around the house while they were waiting for the babies to arrive but the last time she saw Chloe everything was fine, or at least she thought it was. And no matter how much she wanted to, she didn't bring up the fact that Chloe and Josh had both been completely MIA during Jesse's recovery. She felt it was better to say nothing than to risk the beginning of World War III with the apparently moody redhead.

When they saw Chloe a few days before Christmas, to exchange gifts, she seemed to be her normal bubbly self and said many times that she couldn't wait to meet the babies, which made her absence that much stranger. So far, she hadn't returned any of Beca's calls or texts. Beca sent her pictures of the babies with the caption, _**"We can't wait to meet Aunt Chloe!" **_She thought for sure a picture of the babies would light a fire under Chloe, but she still got no response. Beca asked Stacie, Aubrey and Lily if they had heard from Chloe. All of them said that Chloe "must be laying low" which they thought was odd, but said that they hadn't heard from her either. As far as beca could tell, none of them seemed too concerned. Was Beca imagining things? Was Chloe really ok? Was she just reading too much into the fact that Chloe seemed to have fallen off the face of the planet? Jesse didn't seem to think so. He felt her concern was extremely justified.

Beca and Jesse both reached out to Josh several times. They invited Nick over to play with Dylan, but he wouldn't answer their calls. He only responded via text saying stuff like **_"Thanks, maybe next time."_** or _**"I'll let Chloe know you called."**_

A few days later, Beca and Jesse were both shocked and excited when they finally got a text from Josh asking if they could come by for a visit on Saturday afternoon. While Beca was happy to finally hear from them, she knew deep down something was very, very wrong; she could feel it in her bones. Typically, Chloe would have called her bouncing off the walls to come over, making a real pest of herself. The entire situation was just bizarre.

* * *

><p>On Saturday morning it was an absolute circus in the Swanson house. Getting a toddler and two infants who constantly wanted to nurse ready for company to come over was extremely exhausting. When Chloe, Josh and Nick walked in the house, Jesse could immediately tell the vibe was off. Chloe was very subdued and quiet…eerily quiet - almost zombie like and appeared to be very heavily medicated. The lights were on but there was definitely no one home.<p>

The babies were in the family room in their swings, Dylan standing between them. He told Beca that he was 'reading his babies a book', she didn't have the heart to tell him that the book was upside down. Whatever...it was a cute, not to mention it was a photo worthy, sibling moment. Beca was sitting close by to make sure that Dylan didn't take their pappies (pacifiers); he was absolutely fascinated by them. She had caught Dylan on several occasions with their pappies in his mouth, he even told Beca he wanted his own pappy which she refused to give him, telling him he was "a big boy and big boys don't take pappies" which only seemed to make his curiosity about the pappies even worse. Beca thought it was probably because he had never taken one.

When Dylan saw Nick walk in the house, he said, "Mommy...Nick's here!" then dropped the book and immediately ran toward him. He was so excited to see Nick that he almost tackled him to the ground. The boys laughed and ran off to play. Beca walked across the room eager to give Chloe a hug but Chloe just stood there. Chloe took one look at the babies in their swings and immediately burst into tears. She gathered her things and said in a very Lily like whisper, "Josh, I thought I could do this but I can't; not right now. I'm going to sit in the car." and she ran out the front door. Those were the only words Chloe uttered in the Swanson house that day.

"Chloe, please don't leave." Beca called after her. "Josh, what's wrong with her?"

"She miscarried over summer, in early July." Josh confessed.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Beca said as she hugged Josh realizing that was why Chloe had been acting weird at Dylan's birthday party.

"She got pregnant again in late September, which I thought was too soon after the last miscarriage but she was excited about it. Things seemed to be going well but at the 10 week ultrasound Dr. Anderson detected a few problems and sent us for further testing. We went back to the doctor two weeks later for the results. Turns out the baby, our daughter, had Down's syndrome, which was a shock but we were ok. The diagnosis wasn't easy but a baby is a blessing no matter what. After the Dr. Anderson gave us the diagnosis, he did an ultrasound and said that everything else looked really good. While the baby had Down's, the pregnancy wasn't in jeopardy and he gave us the ok to travel for the holidays. With his seal of approval we made plans to go to New York for Christmas. Two weeks later at just 14 weeks gestation, she miscarried our daughter, who we named, Brooklyn Hope. It happened four days after Christmas while we were still in New York."

"Oh my God Josh." Beca gasped. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Beca, how could I? Jesse had his accident and you were pregnant with the twins. You guys were dealing with so much already. We couldn't burden you with our problems."

"You guys are never a burden."

"You're gonna try again for another baby…right?" Jesse asked.

Josh lowered his head, "We can't. She's had a total of four miscarriages over the last two years."

"Four miscarriages?!" Beca asked completely shocked and stunned. "She never said anything."

"Yes, four. She didn't want any of you to know and if she had her way, you still wouldn't know." Josh confessed. "After she miscarried Brooklyn, and we got back from New York, Dr. Anderson did some further tests. Based on the results, we were advised not to have any more kids.

"Why? What did he say?" Beca asked.

"Chloe has severe stage 4 endometriosis, there's a lot of scarring, her fallopian tubes are completely blocked, her ovaries are severely damaged and are no longer producing eggs. The tests also showed that she has some pre-cancerous cells in her uterine lining, which Dr. Anderson thinks contributed to the miscarriage, so he's recommended a complete hysterectomy. She's scheduled for surgery day after tomorrow."

"Oh my God Josh. She's so young. I had no idea." Beca said as she took Ava out of her swing. "Has she always had endometriosis?" Jesse stood in stunned silence as he took Brody in his arms. He couldn't believe that Chloe and Josh had shouldered all of this on their own but then he still couldn't believe all of what Beca had shouldered either.

"She's always had it, other than her parents and me, no one else knew. She didn't want anyone to know. She never told me how bad it was though. I found out from Dr. Anderson." Josh said. "She still hasn't come to terms with 'being gutted like a fish' as she puts it."

"And here I am popping babies out left and right." Beca said guiltily as she stared into her daughter's eyes, tears running down her face.

"Beca, please don't feel guilty. Don't cry. She's happy for you. She really is; it's just been really hard. She wanted so badly to give Nick siblings and that's not going to happen now."

"What about adoption or surrogacy?" Beca asked wiping tears from her cheek.

"She says that's not the same and that if she can't have a baby the old fashioned way than she doesn't want anymore. I'm hoping that with time she'll change her mind."

"Josh…I wish I knew what to say."

"There's nothing to say. I'm trying to stay strong for her but it's been hard. She won't look at me or Nick. She doesn't talk to us, she stays in bed all day. She's been so withdrawn and depressed."

"Sounds like you could use a break." Jesse said. "Do you want us to take Nick for a few days?"

"Man, you have your hands full with Dylan and the babies. I couldn't ask you to do that."

"You didn't…we offered." Jesse said.

"If you're sure it's ok." Josh said. "I really could use a break, especially since her surgery is in a couple of days."

"We'd love to have him. Since our family went back to Georgia, Dylan has missed having kids around the house all the time." Beca told him.

"I'll need to bring some clothes over for him."

"That's fine. He can stay as long as you need or want him to."

Beca, Jesse and Josh all stood up. Josh hugged and thanked them both of them. Jesse handed Brody off to Beca and followed Josh and Nick outside. Beca stood there, a baby in each arm and Dylan tapping on her leg because he wanted juice. _**"You can do this." **_she told herself. She sat back down and carefully moved Ava to her right arm so that both babies were in the same arm, then took Dylan's hand as he dragged her to the kitchen. "Mommy, I want some juice."

"Ok, baby…it's going to take me a minute." Beca said as she opened the fridge and pulled the juice out. Dylan put his sippy cup on the counter so Beca could fill it. When Jesse walked back in with Nick, he saw Beca doing what was damn near impossible. She was holding both babies in one arm while pouring juice into a cup for their 2 1/2 year old. When she was done, she somehow managed to screw the lid on the cup before handing it to Dylan.

"Look at you Super Mommy." He said as he kissed her and took Ava from her arms. "Hi my princess." He said kissing Ava on her rosy little cheeks.

"Well, you aren't always going to be here and I need to learn to juggle a bit."

"Looks like you're doing just fine to me." He said kissing her forehead.

"Thanks." Beca said with a smirk. "When is Josh coming back with Nick's stuff?"

"Later this evening; he's going to try to get Chloe to come back."

"I can't imagine what she's going through." Beca said as she watched Brody sleep in her arms.

"I can't either. Poor Josh is bearing the brunt of everything. She was yelling at him because we offered to take Nick for a few days."

Beca looked up confused, "She doesn't want Nick to stay with us while she's in the hospital?"

"Chloe said we were being selfish, that we have three babies of our own and we were taking the only baby she would ever have away from her." Jesse told her. "She also said that she didn't need the surgery since we were single handedly ripping her insides out without the luxury of pain meds."

"Oh my God…She said that?" Beca said hurt evident in her voice.

"Yeah babe, I'm at a loss. I just don't know what to do."

"Well, we're not trying to take Nick from her. We're just trying to help."

"That's what Josh told her. I tried telling her the same things but she wouldn't listen." Jesse said rubbing his face with his free hand. "She called me a 'fucking baby snatcher' so Josh asked me to take Nick inside so he could deal with her. He said he appreciated everything we were doing and that he would call when he was on his way back."

"A baby snatcher?!" Beca said. "She really has lost it. She's delusional."

* * *

><p>Beca and Jesse watched as Dylan and Nick played on the floor in the family room. The boys loved each other like brothers, how could Chloe say that they were trying to take Nick away from her? They would never dream of doing such a thing; and nothing could be further from the truth. They were just trying to help the only way they knew how.<p>

Beca called Stacie & Bryan and asked them to bring Colton over to play with the boys. She also planned to use the time to fill Stacie in on what was going on with Chloe. Maybe she would know what to do.

"Mommy, why didn't Aunt Chloe smile?" Dylan asked. "Is she sad?"

Before Beca could answer, Nick said, "My Daddy says she's sick."

"Oh." Dylan said.

"She has a bad belly ache."

"My daddy was sick, but he's better now." Dylan told Nick

"My dad says my mom will get better soon."

Beca sobbed as she listened to their conversation. They were talking like little men. Both of them had been through so much over the last several months yet they both acted as if nothing was wrong. **_"Children really are resilient."_** Beca thought. She was shaken from her thoughts when Dylan said, "She'll get better, right Mommy?" as he climbed into her lap.

She kissed Dylan on his cheek and said, "Yes, Aunt Chloe is going to get better, really soon." She hoped what she was saying was true. Chloe just had to get better; she had too many people rooting for her.

Stacie and Colton arrived a few minutes later. Turns out she had no clue what to do either; in fact, she had news that was going to make things even worse. Stacie told Beca that she just found out a few days earlier that she was pregnant and that the baby was due in July. This news would devastate Chloe and possibly make her downhill spiral that much worse. Now they really didn't know what to do. Chloe was in such a fragile state that anything to do with a baby would send her straight over the edge.

"There's got to be something we can do." Beca said. "We're just not thinking hard enough."

"Well, we could have a girl's weekend."

"I don't know with the babies I'm really limited as to what I do. I can't just take off for a weekend."

"What if we just had everyone here? The guys can stay at my house."

"And the kids?" Beca asked.

"They can go back and forth between both houses. It's just for one weekend."

"That might work."

Beca asked Jesse what he thought. He said that he'd talk to Josh about it but thought that a girl's weekend couldn't hurt; maybe it was just what Chloe needed to get out of the funk she was in.

"Maybe we could make it a surprise. If we don't I'm not sure how we'd get her here."

"I think a surprise would be great." Stacie agreed.

* * *

><p>Jesse told Beca that he really didn't want to be away from her and the kids for three nights, so he was planning to sleep at home; which Beca was thankful for. He really was a huge help during late night feedings. He suggested that they make call it family weekend and that everyone could just stay that their house instead of all the back and forth between the two houses. After all, they had plenty of room. The girls both liked that idea better and said that if it was a success that they could make it an annual event. Jesse called Josh to fill him in on Beca and Stacie's idea. Josh agreed that it was a great idea and said that he was sure Chloe could use the change of scenery and some time away from their house for a few days.<p>

Now that the girls knew Josh was onboard, they immediately got to work. If everyone was going to be at their house for an entire weekend it was definitely going to take a lot of planning. The girls continued bouncing ideas off of each other for the weekend. They planned a menu and Stacie sent everyone a text letting them know the date, the details and said that excuses were not going to be accepted. Everyone had to be there...PERIOD. They would definitely have lots of good food and adult beverages, though Beca and Stacie couldn't drink, there was nothing stopping the others from drinking.

Since they knew the where and when, it was time to start planning activities to keep everyone occupied. Beca planned to make it crystal clear that she didn't mind anyone drinking but that if they got sick in her house, not only were they going to clean it up themselves and to her satisfaction, but they would be banished to a tent in the backyard for the remainder of the weekend.

* * *

><p>Dylan and Nick had been sleeping in Beca and Jesse's room and she wasn't really happy about the arrangement. She hoped that with Nick staying over, Dylan would be prompted to sleep in his room but so far no dice. So Jesse set up a tent on the floor for them and they seemed to be enjoying it, which didn't seem to help the 'let's get Dylan back in his bed' argument.<p>

The third night Nick stayed over he woke shortly after Beca got the babies down after their 2am feeding. She had just turned off the light and snuggled into a sleeping Jesse's side when she heard him.

"Aunt Beca."

"Yeah baby." she said groggily.

"Can I get in bed with you and Uncle Jesse?"

"Sure." she said rolling over to help him up and he snuggled in between her and Jesse. They both lay on their sides facing each other. Nick tucked his head in the crook of Beca's arm. "I'm sorry; did the babies and I wake you?"

"No, I was awake." Nick told her in the darkness.

"Wanna tell me what's wrong kiddo?"

Nick took a deep breath, "Is my Momma gonna get better?"

Beca gasped, took a moment and said, "Yeah baby, she is. She has a pretty bad owie in her belly that we can't see but her doctor is going to fix it."

"Do you think she still love me?" Nick asked as he played with Beca's hair.

"Oh Nick." Beca said holding him tight. "I know she does. She loves you more than you'll ever know."

"More than there are stars in the sky."

"Yes, more than there are stars in the sky." she repeated as tears started to run down her cheeks.

"But she doesn't tell me anymore. She hasn't said it in a long time."

Beca reached over to turn the light on, "Nick," she said tilting his head so he was looking at her, "Your Momma loves you so, so much. You are so special to her. As soon as she's feeling better, I'm sure things will go back to the way they were."

"Brooklyn died and Momma got sad and I don't think I can make her happy again." Nick told her.

Beca lay there, Nick's words were ripping her heart out of her chest. "Yes, Brooklyn died and that's sad, but you have to know that you'll always, always, always make her happy."

"I don't know." Nick said sounded defeated. "I try and try and she just won't smile."

"When she's feeling better and her owie is gone, she'll smile." Beca said while thinking, _**"Damnit Chloe...I cannot believe what you've done to this beautiful baby. He's heartbroken and you don't seem to care." **_She just wanted to smack some sense into Chloe.

"Daddy says Brooklyn is our special angel baby and that God had a special job for her to do and that's why she went to be with him in Heaven."

"Your Daddy's right. Brooklyn is a very, very special angel baby."

"But Aunt Beca," Nick said reaching up to touch her cheek, "Aren't your babies special? Why didn't your babies go to Heaven?"

Beca swallowed hard this was going to be tougher than she thought, "Because God didn't have a special job for them to do in Heaven so he sent them here to be with me and Uncle Jesse. All babies are special but only the very, very special ones are selected by God to do special jobs in Heaven."

"Oh, so Brooklyn really is very, very special."

"Yeah, she has to be if God wanted her in Heaven with him."

"I wonder what she looks like." Nick said.

"Well...I think she probably looks like you." Beca said as she ran her fingers through his thick auburn hair. "I bet she's absolutely beautiful."

"Just like my Mom?"

"Yep...just like your Mom."

"Aunt Beca, do you think Brooklyn has wings?"

"Yes, I know she does and they're the most beautiful wings ever."

"Yeah, I think so too." he agreed.

They lay quietly for a few minutes and Beca noticed that Nick's breathing evened off and that he was starting to doze. "I love you Aunt Beca." he said groggily. "more than all the stars in the sky."

Collecting herself and turning out the light, she said, "I love you too Nick, to the moon and back again."

Within minutes Nick was asleep snuggled against Beca's chest. As much as she needed to, she didn't have the heart to move him, so she left him tucked safely between her and Jesse. She needed to feel Jesse's arms around her and to have him tell her that everything was going to be ok but Nick needed them more. She placed her left arm over Nick and rested it on Jesse's waist. He was facing her but he was still asleep and she didn't want to wake him. At least one of them was sleeping. She was crying as looked down into the face of the little boy lying with her. He was such a sweet boy and so much like Chloe. He had her spirit and he zest for life but the poor little guy was just as broken as his parents over the death of Brooklyn. She wished she could understand why things like this happened to such good people.

Jesse reached over for her and woke when he realized one of the kids was between them. "Hey" he said. He could tell she was crying and reached up to wipe the tears from her cheek. "Bad dream?"

"No," she said sniffing. "He thinks Chloe doesn't love him anymore."

Jesse let out a sigh, "Oh God." he said pulling them both closer to him. "What do we do?"

"I tried to reassure him that she does still love him but Chloe needs to come around soon, otherwise I'm not sure what's going to happen."

"Maybe the weekend we have planned will do just that."

"I hope so Jesse. This baby needs his Mommy."

"What if that doesn't happen?"

"I'm not giving up on her Jess, and I'm not giving up on Nick either. I can't."

* * *

><p>A week later, Stacie told Beca that she ordered a bounce house, Colton's request, for their family weekend. It would be dropped off on Friday morning and picked up on Sunday evening. Both of them were excited about planning what Stacie called their first annual "Aca-Family Fun Weekend". They sat and planned a few more activities, which would include a dance party per Dylan's request and they would also do a riff off because that was sure to cheer Chloe up.<p>

Beca told Stacie that she had something special planned but that she was going to keep it just between her and Jesse for right now. She also said that Jesse had something up his sleeve but that he wouldn't tell her what it was.

Stacie laughed when Beca told her that Jesse arranged for a guy with a train and ponies to come out on Saturday for a couple of hours so the kids could get train and pony rides in the cul-de-sac. Dylan had requested both and Jesse had a problem with telling him no.

"Turns out this won't be a surprise for Chloe." Beca told Stacie.

"Oh...why?"

"Josh doesn't want to overwhelm her. He told her about the party and the things we have planned and she's agreed to come."

"That's awesome. Maybe she's starting to come around."

"I don't know, you didn't see her Stace. I don't want to let myself think that and be disappointed."

"I know what you mean."

They only had a few days left until their Aca-Family Fun weekend and everyone was calling wanting to know what they could do to help prepare or what they could bring. Everyone was excited, they hadn't had a big get together in some time and they were all looking forward

* * *

><p>AN: So, there you have it. That's what has been going on with poor Chloe...probably not what an of you were thinking. Don't hate me! There are good things coming for her though...I promise!


	22. Chapter 22

The day of the party arrived. Stacie and Bryan had been over all day helping Jesse with last minute preparations. Beca was helping as much as she could but was ultimately put on "kid duty" and told to sit down before she over did it. Josh called around lunchtime and asked when everyone was getting there. Beca told him that Amy and Cynthia Rose were already on the road and that everyone else would be arriving when they got off work. He said that he and Chloe could come by early so that he could get there and get her settled before everyone one else arrived. Beca was looking forward to having Chloe to herself for awhile. She missed her...a lot!

When Chloe and Josh arrived, they both looked a lot better than the last time Beca saw them. Nick was still staying with them since Chloe was recovering from surgery and Josh was dedicated to caring for her himself. When Beca called Nick to come downstairs he came bounding down the stairs and straight into Josh's arms. Beca motioned to Josh that she was taking Dylan and Colton in there and closing the door so the three of them could visit. As much as she missed Chloe and wanted to her to meet the babies, Nick needed and deserved her more at that moment.

* * *

><p>After dinner, Beca asked everyone to sit in the family room. When everyone was seated she said, "All of you are probably wondering why Stacie and I decided to throw this Aca-Family Fun weekend. Well, it's been a long time since we were all together and it was time for all of us to be able to have fun and let loose. With any luck this weekend will be really fun and it'll become an annual thing. Now, what you don't know is that a few days before Brody and Ava were born, our crazy aca-family lost a very special member." Everyone started looking around confused and started mumbling.<p>

"Flatbutt, what are you talking about?" Amy asked.

"Ok, ok shhh, everybody quiet." Jesse said over their rumblings. "Go ahead babe."

"As I was saying, we lost a family member." Chloe started crying into Josh's shoulder. "Chloe and Josh lost a precious baby girl. Little Miss Brooklyn Hope is singing a capella and flying with the angels, and while none of us got to meet her, she's in all of our hearts. So what I planned for us to do is release pink balloons and wishing lanterns in memory of Chloe, Josh and Nick's sweet angel baby."

"Come on guys." Jesse said. "Let's go in the backyard."

As everyone walked outside, Chloe stopped Beca. "Beca..." she said wiping tears from her eyes, "I love you so much and I have been so awful to you. I wasn't there for you when Jesse had his accident and I wasn't there for you when you had the twins. I don't deserve any of this."

"But you do. You were dealing with so much and you did it on your own. We love you Chloe and we wanted to show you just how much." She said hugging her careful not to squeeze Ava. "Let's go join everyone else."

When they got outside, Jesse had about a hundred sparkly pink balloons filled with glitter. Chloe realized in that moment just how much her friends loved and cared for her. When the balloons were handed out she noticed that Jesse tied special mylar balloons to each fence post around the back yard as well as the fence that went around the pool area.

Jesse got everyone's attention. "OK guys, in a few minutes we're going to release our balloons but the balloons that are tied to the fence posts are for Chloe, Josh and Nick to release privately. Josh mouthed "Thank you" to Jesse and Beca. Beca handed everyone a marker and told them they could decorate their balloons any way they wanted to before they released them as a group. As everyone was decorating their balloons Jesse, Bryan, Donald, Benji and Uni started lighting the wishing lanterns.

About 30 minutes later Beca asked, "Is everyone ready?"

"Yeah!" Everyone said.

"Let's go out to the middle of the yard." When everyone was standing together Beca said, "Brooklyn Hope, We love you so much our sweet little angel baby. You'll always be in our hearts."

Jesse started to count down, "Ok...3...2...1 Let'em go!" The sun started to set as they all stood and watched as the balloons and the lanterns flew heavenward. Dylan broke the silence by pointing to the sky and saying, "Look Mommy! Brookie sent us a rainbow!"

And sure enough there it was, the most beautiful, vibrant rainbow had taken over the sky. Jesse held both of his sons in his arms, Beca and Ava at his side and all of their friends standing around looking up to the sky. "Daddy...sing the Kermit song!" Dylan said.

"The Kermit song?" Cynthia Rose asked.

Without answering, Jesse and Beca both started singing,

_"Why are there so many songs about rainbows_  
><em>and what's on the other side?<em>  
><em>Rainbows are visions, but only illusions,<em>  
><em>and rainbows have nothing to hide."<em>

_So we've been told and some choose to believe it._  
><em>I know they're wrong, wait and see.<em>  
><em>Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection.<em>  
><em>The lovers, the dreamers and me."<em>

When everyone realized what they were singing they all joined in.

_"Who said that every wish would be heard_  
><em>and answered when wished on the morning star?<em>  
><em>Somebody thought of that and someone believed it.<em>  
><em>Look what it's done so far.<em>  
><em>What's so amazing that keeps us star gazing<em>  
><em>and what do we think we might see?<em>  
><em>Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection.<em>  
><em>The lovers, the dreamers and me.<em>

_All of us under its spell. We know that it's probably magic._

_Have you been half asleep and have you heard voices?_  
><em>I've heard them calling my name.<em>  
><em>Is this the sweet sound that called the young sailors.<em>  
><em>The voice might be one and the same.<em>  
><em>I've heard it too many times to ignore it.<em>  
><em>It's something that I'm supposed to be.<em>  
><em>Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection.<em>  
><em>The lovers, the dreamers and me.<em>

When the song was over everyone started to gather around Chloe, Josh and Nick in a huge family hug. Chloe was sure that she never felt more loved than she did at that very moment. After several minutes, Jesse asked everyone to come inside for dessert so the Paxton's could have some private time.

* * *

><p>Once everyone was inside, Chloe kneeled down next to Nick and gave him the biggest, tightest hug. She regretted her behavior and what she had done to him since losing Brooklyn. Nick broke the hug and took Chloe's face in his hands, "Momma, I missed you."<p>

"Oh baby, I missed you too. I'm so sorry I was so sick for so long."

"Is your owie better now?"

"It is. The doctor took the owies out and I'm starting to feel a lot better."

"Aunt Beca said you still love me."

"She's right, I love you so, so much."

"I love you too. Can we send Brooklyn her balloons now?"

"Yep...let's go." Chloe said as she hugged Nick tightly.

* * *

><p>After dessert, the kids were bathed and settled in for a movie. While the guys went downstairs to play pool in the basement. The girls hung out in the family room where things were starting to feel like old times. The girls were laughing and chatting as if no time had passed.<p>

"Hey Shawshank...what's with the tents in the backyard?"

"Those are for drunkards."

"Drunkards?" Cynthia Rose questioned.

"Yes, I don't mind anyone drinking but if anyone throws up in my house, they're going to clean it up themselves then they have to spend the rest of the weekend in the tents."

"A bit harsh, dontcha think?" Jessica asked.

"Nope. I have three kids, two of which are attached at the tit...I don't have time to clean up anyone else's puke."

"Beca, we're not alcoholics you know?"

"Oh really?"

"We generally only drink on weekends. Except for special occasions. And boredom. And Thursdays. Which some people consider weekends." Amy told her.

"Amy, the last time we had a party here I found you in my hall closet yelling "Where the fuck is Narnia?!" Beca told her.

"I did?"

"Yep!" Stacie told her. "And that's not the worst of it."

Cynthia Rose started laughing, "There was the time you got into Beca's outdoor fireplace and yelled 'Diagon Alley!' while waving a stick around and calling for 'Hedwig'."

They all started laughing at the memory and for the first time ever Amy looked slightly embarrassed. "Are y'all being serious?"

Chloe joined them a few minutes earlier, "We couldn't make this shit up if we tried." she told Amy.

"Do y'all remember the time Amy said, 'Hey aca-bitches watch this!' She took off 'vertical running' into the side of the outdoor fireplace because she thought it was Platform nine and three quarters? Amy, you tried to play it off by saying that the reason you were laying on the ground was because you were working on your 'mermaid dancing'." Stacie told her. By this time everyone was rolling on the floor laughing and having a great time.

"There's also the time you were trying to find Nemo in my pool. You said we should call you 'Dori, since you were wearing a blue bathing suit,' and kept yelling 'P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way. Sydney!'" Beca told her laughing.

"Alright, alright...I get it. I'm a hilarious drunk and its's obviously pick on Amy day...surprisingly I'm ok with that."

They continued to reminisce about their college days. What no one knew was that Jesse had finally obtained a copy of Beca's run in with Bumper. He thought this would be the perfect time to show everyone. He figured everyone would get a good laugh out of Bumper's misfortune.

* * *

><p>When the guys came upstairs, Beca was in their bedroom feeding the twins. Jesse went into the room to tell her some exciting news.<p>

"Hey." he said walking in the room. "Guess who's asleep in his own bed?"

"Really? He hasn't slept in his bed in a month."

"I know. Exciting huh?"

"Very. Especially since I'll get my medical release in two weeks." she said with a wink.

He kissed her forehead. "Mmmm...only two more weeks! Are they almost finished nursing?"

"No, I just got in bed with them right before you walked in."

"Ok, well I'll hang out in here with you until you're done then we can show everyone the Bumper video."

"Ugh...we really have to show them huh?"

"What are you moaning about. I got a hard-on being in the room when it happened, what do you think is going to happen when I watch the replay?"

Beca gave a little chuckled, "Well, maybe you'll get lucky tonight."

"You just said we have to wait two more weeks." he said looking puzzled.

"Come here." Beca said. As soon as he was close enough she kissed him, pushing a peppermint from her mouth into his.

Breaking their kiss, he smiled and said, "Ahh... well, here's to getting lucky!"

* * *

><p>When the babies were finished nursing, Beca and Jesse joined everyone else in the family room. They plugged in the karaoke machine and were acting like complete fools. Amy was singing her drunk rendition of Madonna's "Like A Virgin" while while giving herself the most unvirgin like rub down while everyone else was rolling on the floor laughing. Cynthia Rose was the only one that thought to pull out her phone to take a video. Beca and Jesse just stood back and watched while Amy finished her little show.<p>

When Amy was finally finished embarrassing herself yet again, Jesse asked if everyone was ready to watch the Bumper video. Of course, everyone was more than excited to watch it and even though the video was only about 30 minutes long, Jesse insisted that everyone have movie snacks. Preparation took longer than the video would. Amy made sure to get a seat front and center. She wanted the best view of the "Bumper beating." Everyone was silent the minute Jesse started the video.

_**"You no good, dirty, rotten son of a bitch. What the fuck are you doing here?"**_

_**"Jesse…man, I just wanted to talk. To apologize for what happened."**_

_**Throwing his hands up in surrender, Jesse said, "Look…I'm not the one that spoke to you Beca is. You need to address her."**_

_**"Beca, please…"**_

_**"Don't you 'Beca please' me. You and your asshole friend could have killed Jesse and ruined my life, so you had better come up with something better than 'Beca please'."**_

_**"I can explain…if you'll back off. Jesse, man please. Call her off."**_

_**"You're on your own Bumper." **_

_**"WHAT?! Are you serious right now?! You want to explain! There is no explaining what happened Bumper. How would you even begin to try to explain that what happened?! I could've lost my husband, my son could've lost his father and my babies may never have even known their father!" **_

_**"Beca…I know you're angry, but please."**_

_**"Angry?! Oh, you haven't seen angry yet!"**_

_**"Ok, maybe angry wasn't the right word."**_

_**"Were you born at the shallow end of the gene pool or did you sneak in when the life guard wasn't looking?"**_

Uni and Donald couldn't believe Bumper was stupid enough to try to take on Beca, of all people. "Dude is a fuckin' idiot." Uni said to Bryan.

Bryan chuckled, "Yeah, no shit!"

_**"Beca...you're really scaring me right now."**_

_**"I DON'T CARE! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOUR PITIFUL EXCUSES! There is no excuse or explanation good enough for what happened. You had a choice that morning and you made the wrong one. You should have used your head Bumper...it's that lump three feet above your ass. Oh, I'm sorry...that's right, the two of you have never met. You knowingly and willingly got into a vehicle when you weren't fit to drive and now you want to make excuses for what happened? I guess I'm supposed to be stupid enough to believe that Kyle forced you to drink yourself stupid then put that joint in your mouth and made you inhale."**_

_**"How long are you going to keep me backed into this corner?" Bumper asked.**_

_**"Until I'm damn good and ready to let you out of it. Now you listen to me you miserable, no good sack of rotting human flesh, when I let you out of this corner you're going to collect what's left of your balls and your dignity, and crawl back into whatever hole it is you crawled out of. You're going to forget what's happened here today and the next time I see your sorry ass, it'll be in court where I hope they sentence you to life under the damn prison. You got that?"**_

_**"Got it." **  
><em>

_**"You are damn lucky I'm pregnant because there's nothing I'd like to do more than kick your sorry ass right here and now. The next time to decide to do something stupid like drink yourself into oblivion, get high and go drag racing, this is the day you'll remember and I hope my face haunts you for the rest of your miserable life."**_

**_"Can I go now?" he asked._**

Stacie looked at Chloe and said, "She looks possessed. I wouldn't have crossed her."

"No kidding." Chloe said.

"Shawshank, this is the most awesome home video I've ever seen. Pass the popcorn."

_**"No…not yet. I'm not quite done with you. That's... for breaking Amy's heart. She loved you asshole."**_

All the guys made "oomph" sounds and grabbed their junk. "What an ass!" Benji said.

"Dude...do you sleep with one eye open?" Uni asked Jesse.

"Nope..." he said with a huge smile.

_**"You know Jesse…it's really too bad that you hooked Beca before I could because even when she's pregnant, she's hot. I would totally do her right here and now on this table."** **Bumper said as he collected his things from the conference room table. Beca, using what could only be described as stealthy ninja moves, came up from behind him and slammed his head hard into the table. "Rot in hell mother fucker!" She said through clenched teeth.**_

"Oh my God! I can't believe he said that." Aubrey said. "Not even I thought Bumper was that stupid."

_**"Damnit Beca….that hurts!"**_

There was a collective "Ooohh! That hurt!" from everyone in the room.

_**"Good…it was supposed to. Just so you know…I'm still not done with you."**_

_**"Damn, dude…it was a compliment." **_

_**"FUCK!" **_

_**"And that….was for me!" **_

_**"Get the fuck out! And don't you ever talk about my wife that way again."**_

When the video was over everyone was high fiving Beca and wishing that they could all do what she did. Amy told her, "Shawshank, you're the smallest person in the room yet you have the biggest set of balls. How the hell does that happen?"

"I don't know Ames. I have no idea where all that came from. I saw red and it just happened."

After another round of drinks, everyone decided to call it a night. It was getting close to midnight and they knew the kids would be up early, not to mention Beca would be up at least twice during the night to nurse. Before everyone turned in for the night, Chloe stopped them.

"Chlo...are you ok?" Beca asked looking concerned.

"Yeah...I'm better than ok." She said. "I just wanted to thank everyone for being here and supporting me, Josh and Nick. I know we weren't honest with you all and I'm really sorry. I promise to do better in the future. We love each and every one of you and need you in our lives. Beca and Jesse, thank you for helping us the last few weeks with Nick. Josh and I are in a good place and we have you to thank for that."

"Anytime Chlo." Beca said hugging her.

They all said good night and turned and started going their separate ways when Beca turned around and said, "Hey Ames...I know you'll be the first one of us awake in the morning, so you're on breakfast duty."

"I can definitely handle that."

"Great! Two things to remember, breakfast should have some kind of nutritional value and most importantly, stay away from my cappuccino machine!"

Amy hung her head and grabbed her crotch, "I'll never live that one down."

* * *

><p>AN: The Rainbow Connection written by Paul Williams; Performed by Kermit the Frog in The Muppet Movie


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N 1:** Aca-Family Fun Weekend Part 2 - ENJOY!

PS: cuticlecareenetwork, there's something just for you in the Riff Off.

* * *

><p>Beca was right, Amy was the first one awake. She went out for donuts, kolaches, pastries, juice, milk, fresh fruit and yogurt. She hoped the fresh fruit, yogurt and juice would satisfy Beca's requirement of "some nutritional value". Amy took things a step further and laid out a nice spread on the island. She made coffee in hopes that the smell would start wafting through the house and wake everyone else. Slowly but surely the troops started to make their way to the kitchen.<p>

Jesse and Beca could hear the breakfast commotion coming from the kitchen and family room and knew it was time to get up though neither wanted to. Judging from the sounds they could hear through the baby monitor Dylan wasn't awake yet. That being the case they decided to milk it a little while longer.

"Aunt Stacie, what stuff do you and Aunt Beca have planned for us today?" Caroline asked.

"Well, let's see...Uncle Jesse arranged for a nice guy with a train and some ponies to come out this afternoon for you guys and we still have the bounce house to play in."

Caroline was all smiles. She loved ponies. "And what else?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Is there anything else for us to do?"

Stacie winked at her. "Well, if you're super good you guys can watch our riff off tonight."

"A real riff off? Like when you, Aunt Beca and Momma were Bellas?"

"Just like it."

"Awesome-sauce!" Caroline yelled as she danced around the family room. She had been begging them to do a riff off for a long time and they always seemed to come up with reasons not to, but since this was a special family affair they decided that a riff off was a must.

* * *

><p>There was no schedule for the morning which allowed for everyone to get up and get moving at their own pace, which everyone seemed to enjoy. The kids were so excited when the train and the ponies arrived that they ran out of the front to watch the guy get everything set up for them. Turns out Joe, the guy that owned the ponies, had a bit of a surprise for the kids on that Beca wasn't real happy about. When she saw what was in her front yard she pulled Jesse to the side. "You said two ponies Jesse. Two ponies! Not a whole fuckin' petting zoo!"<p>

"Babe, calm down. I only asked for two ponies I swear."

"Then why do I have the entire Los Angeles zoo in my front yard?"

"It's our front yard and if you give me a minute, I'll find out." Jesse walked over to speak to Joe, then walked back toward Beca. "Ok listen, we aren't being charged for the whole zoo."

Beca rolled her eyes, "It's not about the money and you know it. It's about the shit Jesse. Big, farm animal shit in my front yard. If I wanted my house to smell like farm shit then I'd be living on some backwoods dirt road in Podunk, North Dakota!"

Jesse laughed and pulled her into a hug, "Babe, he has a birthday party to go to after this. It was easier to bring all the animals with him since the party isn't far from here."

"Jess, there are chickens, rabbits, a donkey, a goat, sheep and whatever else in my front yard. This is not Old MacDonald's farm. This is my house!"

"Beca... look at the kids and Amy, they're having a blast. Look at their little faces. They're happy. The guy won't be here long."

"Fine! But he's cleaning all the shit...I do mean all of it and whatever is left, Amy has to clean since she's having _so_ much fun." she told him. "And make that goat stop eating my begonias!"

"Oh shit!" he said smacking his forehead.

"Get after it cuz if you don't, you're sleeping in that tent out back!" she said walking toward the house.

"Ok...ok!" he said going over to talk to Joe. She watched as Jesse pointed. Joe took the animals to the center of the cul-de-sac and off of the lawn. Beca smiled as she turned around and walked into the house. She still couldn't believe she had farm animals at her house.

* * *

><p>After Joe and his zoo left, Beca insisted that all the kids be bathed to get the farm germs and funk off of them. Jesse's solution was to put the kids in their bathing suits and throw them in the hot tub which surprisingly, Beca agreed with since it was the quickest way to get the job done. It was early February but it was LA after all. It was warm during the day with a slight chill in the air in the evening, so the kids could play comfortably in the hot tub without getting sick. Little did Beca know that when she agreed to the kids bathing in the hot tub that Jesse was going to dump a couple of gallons of Mr. Bubble in the hot tub and turn the jets on high. The kids had a blast and before long Jesse and the other guys were in the hot tub with them.<p>

"Jesse. What are you doing?"

"Bathing the kids." he said with a sly smile

"Are y'all bathing the kids or yourselves?"

Jesse gave her a cheeky grin, "It's a bubble bath party...care to join?"

"Maybe later." she winked. "I have to go feed the babies."

"Ok suit yourself!"

"Hmmm..." Beca said before putting her hands up like they were scales. "Bubble bath party or happy babies with full bellies? I'll take happy babies for a $1,000 Alex."

"My life has turned into a game of Jeopardy." Jesse joked.

Beca bent down to kiss him. "You love it."

There were bubble everywhere. Their pool guy was going to have a field day with the clean up, but who cares...that's what they paid him for, besides the kids loved it. It was a huge back yard bubble bath...what's not to love? It was clearly the highlight of the weekend for the kiddos.

* * *

><p>Caroline was so excited for the riff off, she had been waiting for it all day. Jesse had a raised see through dance floor installed over the pool. They planned on using it as a stage. When the pool lights were on it looked really cool especially since the lights changed colors automatically. After their bubble bath the kids used the stage for a dance party because no family get-together could ever be complete without one of Dylan's dance parties.<p>

When the dance party was over it was finally time for the riff off. Once everyone was paying attention, Beca and Stacie took center stage to let everyone know how the riff off was going to work.

"Y'all ready?"

"YEAH!"

"Ok, so we're going to split into two groups." Beca said but before she could continue Donald cut her off.

"Wait! We're not doing Bellas vs Trebles?" Donald asked.

"No. Since Beca and I arranged this weekend, we thought we'd shake things up a little by splitting the teams up differently."

"How so?" Uni asked.

Beca chuckled. "We'll still have two teams. Jesse and Bryan came up with the names. Team Jeca and Team Brycie."

"Jeca and Brycie?" Amy asked.

"Jeca...Jesse and Beca. Brycie...Bryan and Stacie." Jesse said.

"Y'all are some weird-ass mofo's." Donald said. Everyone laughed.

"Go on...We're listening." Benji said.

"Thanks Benji. Each team will consist of 7 members, meaning each team will have three couples, one team will get Amy the other Cynthia Rose. All names have been placed in this bowl and teams will take turns picking team members from the bowl until everyone is on a team. After the teams have been decided, we'll go over the rules."

"Everyone get it?" Stacie asked. Everyone nodded their heads.

"Ok, so in order to determine which team draws from the bowl first, Beca and Stacie will have roll the dice. Whoever rolls the highest number draws first." Jesse told them. Jesse handed Beca and Stacie each two dice. "When I say go, you'll both roll." Jesse told them. "Ready? Go!"

Beca and Stace both threw their dice on the table top. Beca rolled lucky number 7 and Stacie rolled a 5.

"Ok guys!" Jesse said. "Time to pick teams. Babe, you're up!"

Beca reached into the bowl and opened her slip of paper, "Donald and Lily." After a quick high five it was Stacie's turn.

She reached into the bowl and smiled, "Benji and Jessica."

Jesse passed the bowl back to Beca. She reached in, "Chloe and Josh." Which meant that the only couple left was Aubrey and Uni and they were on Stacie's team, leaving Amy and Cynthia Rose. Stacie reached in the bowl and pulled Amy's name which meant that Cynthia Rose was on Beca's team.

"So, TEAM JECA is: Jesse, Beca, Donald, Lily, Chloe, Josh and Cynthia Rose. TEAM BRYCIE is: Me, Stacie, Benji, Jessica, Uni, Aubrey and Amy." Bryan said.

Jesse got everyone's attention "Pay attention guys, these are the Riff Off Rules:

1- To win you must steal the song from the other group by picking off a word they are singing and making it the first word of your song.

2- If you can't think of a song, you are... Jesse pointed to the kids. "Cut off!" Caroline and the other kids yelled as they made the cut off sign with their hands.

3- If you repeat a song, you are... "Cut off!" Caroline and the other kids yelled.

4- If you suck, you are... "Cut off!" Caroline and the other kids yelled. They were having a lot of fun yelling "Cut off!"

5- Each category will last no longer than 4 songs. After the 4th song a new category will automatically be selected at random with the spinner. The team that finishes a category is deemed the winner of that category. The team that sings their entire song in the final category without being cut off is the Riff Off winner and will be awarded the official Aca-Family Fun Weekend Microphone Trophy."

"Does everyone understand?" Stacie asked. Everyone busted out in a chorus of Yes's, yeah's and uh huh's. "The teams have fifteen minutes to warm up before the Riff Off begins." The teams broke up and went to opposite sides of the yard to warm up. The kids were so excited to see the riff off. They had all heard so much about riff off's and a capella their entire lives, now they were going to see it live!

When everyone was ready, Jesse handed the spinner to Caroline, the oldest of all their kids, and showed her what button to push to determine the category. She was super excited because she had a special job. She hit the spinner and the competition had officially begun.

_**And the 1st category is: Songs with Fictional or Non-Fictional Names in the Lyrics**_

**Benji immediately ran to the center followed closely by his team members,**

_"Little ditty about Jack and Diane_  
><em>Two American kids growin' up in the heartland<em>  
><em>Jackie gonna be a football star<em>  
><em>Diane debutante backseat of Jackie's car<em>

_Suckin' on chili dogs outside the tastee freeze_  
><em>Diane's sittin' on Jackie's lap<em>  
><em>He's"<em>

**Donald cut them off, the rest of the group joined in.**

_"He's down on his luck...it's tough, so tough_  
><em>Gina works the diner all day<em>  
><em>Working for her man, she brings home her pay<em>  
><em>For love - for love<em>

_She says we've got to hold on to what we've got_  
><em>'Cause it doesn't make a difference<em>  
><em>If we make it or not<em>  
><em>We've got each other and that's a lot<em>  
><em>For love - we'll give it a shot<em>

_Whooah, we're half way there_  
><em>Livin' on a prayer<em>  
><em>Take my hand and we'll make it - I"<em>

**Amy made the cut off sign, and started singing.**

_"I hope you think my favorite song_  
><em>The one we danced to all night long<em>  
><em>The moon like a spotlight on the lake"<em>

"Leave it to Amy to sing Taylor Fuckin' Swift! We should have made that a rule. No Swift!" Beca said to Jesse. He laughed cuz it was true.

_"When you think happiness_  
><em>I hope you think that little black dress<em>  
><em>Think of my head on your chest<em>  
><em>And my old faded blue jeans<em>  
><em>When you think Tim McGraw<em>  
><em>I"<em>

**Jesse was excited, he knew what song he was going to cut the other team off with.**

_"I ain't complaining, we've got an arrangement_

_She can wear the pants, she can run the show_  
><em>She can crack a whip like Indiana Jones<em>  
><em>She can rule the roost, she can snap and holler<em>  
><em>She can wear the pants long as I can take 'em off her<em>  
><em>Long as I can take 'em off her<em>

_She calls the shots, gives the orders, makes the plans_  
><em>That woman's wish is my command<em>  
><em>Yeah, I'm telling you I got more honey-do's<em>  
><em>Than every fruit truck on 40, but I'll get 'em done shortly<em>

_She can wear the pants, she can run the show_  
><em>She can crack a whip like Indiana Jones<em>  
><em>She can rule the roost, she can snap and holler<em>  
><em>She can wear the pants long as I can take 'em off her<em>  
><em>Long as I can take 'em off her"<em>

Jesse, Donald and Josh started chest bumpin', hootin' and hollerin'. Round One went to Team Jeca!

**_Round 2, category: Popular ZZ Top Hits_**

**Beca eyes sparkled as she went toward the center of the stage.**

_"She's got legs, she knows how to use them._  
><em>She never begs, she knows how to choose them.<em>  
><em>She's holdin' leg wonderin' how to feel them.<em>  
><em>Would you get behind them if you could only find them?<em>  
><em>She's my baby, she's my baby,<em>  
><em>yeah, it's alright.<em>

_She's got hair down to her fanny._  
><em>She's kinda jet set, try undo her panties.<em>  
><em>Everytime she's"<em>

**Stacie was quick to cut them off with a rather un-family like ZZTop song but then no one really expected anything less from her.**

_"She's really upset with me again,_  
><em>I didn't give her what she likes.<em>  
><em>I don't know what to tell her,<em>  
><em>Don't know what to say.<em>  
><em>Everything got funky last night.<em>

_She was really bombed,_  
><em>And I was really blown away,<em>  
><em>Until I asked her what she wanted,<em>  
><em>And this is what she had to say:<em>  
><em>A pearl necklace.<em>  
><em>She wanna pearl necklace.<em>  
><em>She wanna pearl necklace.<em>

_She gets a charge out of bein' so weird,_  
><em>Digs gettin' downright strange.<em>  
><em>But I can"<em>

**Donald cut Team Brycie off:**

_"can, cuz every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man._

_Gold watch, diamond ring,_  
><em>I ain't missin' a single thing.<em>  
><em>And cufflinks, stick pin,<em>  
><em>when I step out I'm gonna do you in.<em>  
><em>They come runnin' just as fast as they can<em>  
><em>coz every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man.<em>

_Top coat, top hat,_  
><em>I don't worry coz my wallet's fat.<em>  
><em>Black shades, white gloves,<em>  
><em>lookin' sharp and"<em>

**Bryan**

_"and use it like a scrweball would._  
><em>You got to pack it up, work it like a new boy should.<em>

_Gimme all your lovin', all your hugs and kisses too._  
><em>Gimme all your lovin', don't let up until we're through."<em>

Round 2 went to Team Brycie. High fives all around.

_**Round 3, Category: Famous Remakes**_

**Leave it to Aubrey to select an exceptionally girl song. "Watch" she said as she waved her hands in the air.**

_"Six o'clock already_  
><em>I was just in the middle of a dream<em>  
><em>I was kissin' Valentino<em>  
><em>By a crystal blue Italian stream<em>  
><em>But I can't be late<em>  
><em>'Cause then I guess I just won't get paid<em>  
><em>These are the days<em>  
><em>When you wish your bed was already made<em>

_It's just another manic Monday_  
><em>I wish it were Sunday<em>  
><em>'Cause that's my fun day<em>  
><em>My I"<em>

**Lily cut them off with a Shaggy remake,**

_"I dissed the program_  
><em>Not the type to mess around with her emotion<em>  
><em>But the feeling that I have for you is so strong<em>  
><em>Been together so long and this could never be wrong<em>

_Girl, you're my angel, you're my darling angel_  
><em>Closer than my peeps you are to me, baby"<em>

**Uni stepped up,**

_"baby_  
><em>I love rock and roll<em>  
><em>So come and take your time and dance with me<em>  
><em>Ow!<em>

_He smiled, so I got up and asked for his name_  
><em>But that don't matter, he said, 'cause it's all the same<em>  
><em>He said, "Can I take you home<em>  
><em>Where we can be alone?"<em>  
><em>And next we were moving on, he was with me, yeah me<em>  
><em>Next we were moving on, he was with me, yeah me<em>

_Singing, I love rock and roll_  
><em>So put another dime in the jukebox, baby<em>  
><em>I"<em>

**Cynthia Rose shocked everyone when she cut off Team Brycie with Beyonce's rendition 'If I Were a Boy'. Beca, Chloe and Lily all soon jumped in.**

_"I think I could understand_  
><em>How it feels to love a girl<em>  
><em>I swear I'd be a better man.<em>  
><em>I'd listen to her<em>  
><em>'Cause I know how it hurts<em>  
><em>When you lose the one you wanted (wanted)<em>  
><em>'Cause he's taken you for granted (granted)<em>  
><em>And everything you had got destroyed<em>

_It's a little too late for you to come back_  
><em>Say it's just a mistake<em>  
><em>Think I'd forgive you like that<em>  
><em>If you thought I would wait for you<em>  
><em>You thought wrong<em>

_But you're just a boy_  
><em>You don't understand<em>  
><em>Yeah, you don't understand, oh<em>  
><em>How it feels to love a girl someday<em>  
><em>You wish you were a better man<em>  
><em>You don't listen to her<em>  
><em>You don't care how it hurts<em>  
><em>Until you lose the one you wanted<em>  
><em>'Cause you've taken her for granted<em>  
><em>And everything you had got destroyed<em>

_But you're just a boy"_

Round 3, Team Jeca wins! Team Brycie...bottoms up!" Josh bellowed.

_**Fourth and Final Round, Category: American Top 40:**_

_"Just shoot for the stars_  
><em>If it feels right<em>  
><em>And aim for my heart<em>  
><em>If you feel like<em>  
><em>And take me away and make it OK<em>  
><em>I swear I'll behave<em>

_You wanted control_  
><em>So we waited<em>  
><em>I put on a show<em>  
><em>Now I make it<em>  
><em>You say I'm a kid<em>  
><em>My ego is big<em>  
><em>I don't give a shit<em>  
><em>And it goes like this<em>

_Take me by the tongue_  
><em>And I'll know you<em>  
><em>Kiss me 'til you're drunk<em>  
><em>And I'll show you<em>

_All the moves like Jagger_  
><em>I've got the moves like Jagger<em>  
><em>I've got the moves like Jagger<em>

_I"_

**Stacie stepped up and started singing one of her favorite songs,**

_"I know that we are upside down_  
><em>So hold your tongue and hear me out<em>  
><em>I know that we were made to break<em>  
><em>So what? I don't mind<em>

_You kill the lights, I'll draw the blinds_  
><em>Don't dull the sparkle in your eyes<em>  
><em>I know that we were made to break<em>  
><em>So what? I don't mind.<em>

_Are you gonna stay the night?_  
><em>Are you gonna stay the night?<em>  
><em>Oh oh oh, are you gonna stay the night?<em>

_Are you gonna stay the night?_  
><em>Doesn't mean we're bound for life<em>  
><em>So oh oh oh, are you gonna stay the night?"<em>

**Jesse whispered to Beca and the rest of the team before he cut Stacie off...hoping they would take the whole thing.**

_"Are you gonna stay the night_

_Doesn't mean we're bound for life_  
><em>So oh oh, are you gonna stay the night<em>

_I"_

**Jesse: **_"I been, I been losing sleep_

_Dreaming about the things that we could be_  
><em>But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard<em>  
><em>Said no more counting dollars<em>  
><em>We'll be counting stars<em>  
><em>Yeah, we'll be counting stars"<em>

**Beca: "**_I see this life_  
><em>Like a swinging vine<em>  
><em>Swing my heart across the line<em>  
><em>In my face is flashing signs<em>  
><em>Seek it out and ye shall find"<em>

**Donald: "**_Old, but I'm not that old_  
><em>Young, but I'm not that bold<em>  
><em>And I don't think the world is sold<em>  
><em>I'm just doing what we're told"<em>

**Josh and Chloe:** _"I feel something so right_  
><em>By doing the wrong thing<em>  
><em>And I feel something so wrong<em>  
><em>By doing the right thing<em>  
><em>I couldn't lie, couldn't lie, couldn't lie<em>  
><em>Everything that kills me makes me feel alive"<em>

**Jesse and Beca:**  
><em>"Lately I been, I been losing sleep (hey!)<em>  
><em>Dreaming about the things that we could be<em>  
><em>But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard (hey!)<em>  
><em>Said no more counting dollars<em>  
><em>We'll be counting stars<em>  
><em>Lately I been, I been losing sleep (hey!)<em>  
><em>Dreaming about the things that we could be<em>  
><em>But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard (hey!)<em>  
><em>Said no more counting dollars<em>  
><em>We'll be, we'll be counting stars"<em>

**Lily:**_ "I feel the love_  
><em>And I feel it burn<em>  
><em>Down this river every turn<em>  
><em>Hope is our four letter word<em>  
><em>Make that money<em>  
><em>Watch it burn"<em>

**Donald:** _"Old, but I'm not that old_  
><em>Young, but I'm not that bold<em>  
><em>And I don't think the world is sold<em>  
><em>I'm just doing what we're told"<em>

**Josh and Chloe:** _"And I feel something so wrong_  
><em>By doing the right thing<em>  
><em>I couldn't lie, couldn't lie, couldn't lie<em>  
><em>Everything that drowns me makes me wanna fly"<em>

**Jesse and Beca:**  
><em>"Lately I been, I been losing sleep (hey!)<em>  
><em>Dreaming about the things that we could be<em>  
><em>But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard<em>  
><em>Said no more counting dollars<em>  
><em>We'll be counting stars<em>  
><em>Lately I been, I been losing sleep (hey!)<em>  
><em>Dreaming about the things that we could be<em>  
><em>But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard (hey!)<em>  
><em>Said no more counting dollars<em>  
><em>We'll be, we'll be counting stars<em>

_Oh, oh, oh."_

**Everyone**  
><em>"Take that money<em>  
><em>Watch it burn<em>  
><em>Sink in the river<em>  
><em>The lessons I learned<em>

_Everything that kills me makes me feel alive"_

**Everyone**  
><em>"Lately I been, I been losing sleep (hey!)<em>  
><em>Dreaming about the things that we could be<em>  
><em>But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard (hey!)<em>  
><em>Said no more counting dollars<em>  
><em>We'll be counting stars<em>  
><em>Lately I been, I been losing sleep<em>  
><em>Dreaming about the things that we could be<em>  
><em>But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard<em>  
><em>Said no more counting dollars<em>  
><em>We'll be, we'll be counting stars<em>

_Take that money_  
><em>Watch it burn<em>  
><em>Sink in the river<em>  
><em>The lessons I learned"<em>

Caroline jumped up and said, "And Team Jeca takes the win! Better luck next time Team Brycie!"

Uni laughed and said, "Hey...You're supposed to root for your parents!"

Caroline giggled, "But they were better Daddy!" She high-fived her aunt and uncles proudly. "Uncle Jesse, we need to do another riff off."

"Not tonight kiddo."

"No, not tonight but soon."

"Why's that?"

"Because you sing good and I want to hear you sing One Direction!" she gushed.

* * *

><p><span><strong>AN 2:** This was my pretty sad attempt at a riff off. Writing one is harder than you think! I made up my own categories and tried to use songs that I hadn't seen in any of the stories I've read with Riff Off's. All the songs have been listed below. Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!

**SONG REFERENCES: Round 1 (_**Songs with Fictional or Non-Fictional Names in the Lyrics)**_**

Jack and Diane: John Cougar Mellencamp

Living On A Prayer: Bon Jovi

Tim McGraw: Taylor Swift

Pants: Walker Hayes

**SONG REFERENCES: Round 2 (**_Popular ZZ Top Hits)_****

Legs: ZZ Top

Pearl Necklace: ZZ Top

Sharp Dressed Man: ZZ Top

Gimme All Your Lovin': ZZ Top

**SONG REFERENCES: Round 3 (_**Famous Remakes)**_**

Manic Monday The Bangles

Angel: Shaggy

I Love Rock and Roll: Joan Jett

If I Were A Boy: Beyonce

**SONG REFERENCES: Round 4 (_**American Top 40)**_**

Moves Like Jagger: Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera

Stay The Night: Zedd with Hayley Williams of Paramore

Counting Stars: One Republic


	24. Chapter 24

Two weeks after their Aca-Family fun weekend, Beca was scheduled to go to Debi's for her six week check-up. Jesse was supposed to go with her but got called into a meeting for a new movie and reluctantly had to cancel on Beca. She offered to reschedule, as she had no real desire to take all three kids out on her own, but Jesse insisted she keep the appointment and "drive carefully". This was going to be the first time Beca was taking all three kids out on her own. She had been coaching herself all morning telling herself things like "you can do it" and "they're three little people, you can roll with this...no big deal." She went so far as to tell herself that she could have ice cream for a treat when she got home if they all managed to survive the next few hours.

When everyone was dressed and fed, Beca packed a diaper bag for the babies and a backpack of things to keep Dylan occupied. She gently placed Brody and Ava in their infant carriers then stood up and looked at the daunting task at hand. "How am I going to do this?" she asked herself. The babies, their carriers, Dylan's backpack and the diaper bag combined weighed as much as she did. Ok, so that was a slight exaggeration but only slight.

"Dylan!" she called.

"Coming Mommy!" he said. She could hear him toddling down the hall from the studio.

"Hi baby. Can you sit with the babies while I load up the bags and get the truck started?"

He looked at her with eyes that sparkled like Jesse's. He loved being a big boy and he absolutely loved his brother and sister. "Yes ma'am." he said grabbing his favorite book and sitting on the floor between their carriers. Beca put her wallet and cell phone in the diaper bag then threw it over her shoulder, collected Dylan's back pack before grabbing her keys and walking toward the garage. Leaving the door between the garage and the house open she loaded the bags into the truck and started the engine. She decided against starting a movie for Dylan instead putting his bag within arms reach of his car seat. If he really wanted something to do he could read a book or play with his Hot Wheels cars. She was reasonably certain he could take a 30 minute ride without watching a movie, of course, Jesse would definitely disagree.

"Ok Dylan." she said walking into the house. "Are you guys ready?"

"Yeah, let's go."

"Ooook." she said looking at the babies. "Let's do this." she reached down for the handles of the infant carriers "Come on Dylan, let's go."

Dylan took off toward the garage door. Stopping just short of the door, he turned, waved his hand and said, "Come on Mommy, hurry. I wanna go bye-bye."

"I'm going as fast as I can little man." Loading the kids one at a time into the big SUV she felt like she had finally accomplished something. She had to tell herself, "you can roll with this." then she smiled as she closed the door and walked around to get herself in the truck. As she was about to back out of the garage, Jesse pulled into his spot in the garage.

Jumping out of his SUV and running over to hers he said, "Good...you're still here."

"DADDY!" Dylan called from the backseat.

"Hey little man!" he said climbing into the drivers seat as Beca moved over to the passenger seat.

"I thought you had a meeting?" she asked

"I asked Cliff to reschedule. I told him you weren't supposed to be driving yet."

She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

As they drove on the freeway Jesse asked, "Hey little man...wanna sing your new song to Momma?"

"YES!" he said throwing his fist in the air like Jesse showed him. Beca laughed because of course their kids were going to learn how to thrust their fists into the air like John Bender.

"Ok...ready?

"YES!" He said with his cute little lisp. "Count Daddy!"

"Here goes. 1, 2, 3..." Dylan started singing,

_"On top of pis'ketti,  
>All covered wiff cheese,<br>I lost my poor me-ball,  
>When somebody sneezed.<em>

_It rolled off da ta-ble,  
>And on to da floor,<br>And then my poor me-ball,  
>Rolled out of da door."<em>

Dylan made an 'O' with his mouth and pressed his hands to his cheeks causing Beca to giggle. She really did have the cutest kids ever.

_"It rolled in da gar-den,_  
><em>And unda da bush,<em>  
><em>And den my poor me-ball,<em>  
><em>Was nothin' but mush.<em>

_Da mush was as tas-ty_  
><em>As tas-ty could be,<em>  
><em>And den da next sum-mer,<em>  
><em>It grew to a tree."<em>

Beca smiled as Dylan wrinkled his nose and made his yucky face.

_"Da tree was all cov-ered,_  
><em>All cov-ered wiff moss,<em>  
><em>And on it grew me-balls,<em>  
><em>And tow-mater sauce.<em>

_So if you eat pis'ketti,_  
><em>All cov-ered wiff cheese,<em>  
><em>Hold on to your me-ball,<em>  
><em>Whenever you sneeze."<em>

Beca clapped. "Good job little man!"

"Thanks." he said with a little lisp. "Daddy teached it to me."

Patting Jesse's arm, she said "Good job Daddy" and winked. Jesse laughed then both boys thrust their fists in the air.

* * *

><p>They arrived at the birthing center and unloaded quickly. It looked like to was going to start raining and they needed to get the kids inside before the skies opened up and soaked them all. It was going to be a real frog strangler.<p>

When they walked inside the usually serene, peaceful center, Beca immediately felt the tension in the room as she looked at a woman in the family waiting area. She was sitting alone and sobbing silently. Hope walked over and greeted them and immediately started making over Dylan, the babies and how good Beca looked. As much as Beca tried to pay attention to Hope her thoughts were drawn to the woman in the waiting area.

"Hope, I know this is none of my business, but is she ok?" Beca asked quietly.

"With time, I think she will be. She's just really upset."

"Why?"

Before Hope could answer, the lady said, "I'm here with my 16 year old daughter. We've just found out that she's pregnant and I don't know what to do."

Beca gave Jesse a look that told him to stay with the kids while she went over to speak to the woman. "Hi. I'm Beca." she said squatting in front of the woman and taking her hands into her own. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I'm Lisa Hunter. My daughter Samantha is in the back with Debi."

"Well, I can tell you that Debi's the best. Samantha is in very good hands."

"I know Debi's the best. She delivered Sami as well as my other 3 kids." Lisa said. "I just worry about what we're going to do. I have 4 kids and I'm barely making ends meet now. I can't afford a baby."

"If you don't mind my asking, how far along is Samantha?"

"Debi told us she's 6 weeks." Lisa said. "She's a straight 'A' student. She runs track, plays volleyball and is a member of the theater company at school. She won't be able to do any of those things now."

"Maybe not this year but there's always next year."

"Yeah, I guess. I just hope it won't keep her from getting a college scholarship." Lisa cried. "I knew I shouldn't have let her go to that party. I knew it. Cody's parents were supposed to be there. I had a bad feeling about it but I didn't check. This is all my fault."

"Lisa, none of this is your fault. This happened because Sami's baby is meant to be here. If she doesn't get a scholarship for sports or theater, I'm sure she'll get one for academics and that's so much better than a sports scholarship." Motherhood had changed Beca. She was softer and not just because she had three babies but because she had grown as a woman, a wife and a friend. Her walls were gone and she allowed herself to open up and to feel.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Lisa said sniffling.

"When is Sami due?" Beca asked.

"October 6th."

Beca patted Lisa's knee before sitting next to her on the couch. As she sat next to her, she wrapped her in a tight hug. Jesse just watched in amazement as his wife comforted a complete stranger. "Do you know what your options are?"

"Yes."

"And if you don't mind my asking, what do you think?"

"Sami and I don't agree with abortion and we can't afford to keep the baby, so we've agreed adoption is the best option. Debi said she would help us find the best possible family for this little angel."

When Lisa said 'angel' Beca suddenly had a thought. Chloe! "I don't mean to sound forward, but I might be able to help you with that."

Lisa looked at Beca with a sour expression. "Beca, I don't mean to sound ungrateful but you already have your hands full." she said motioning to where Jesse was sitting across the room with their children.

"I think you've misunderstood my ability to help. You see, I have a friend who's had a very hard time trying to have a second baby. Not long ago she had to have a complete hysterectomy and was devastated."

"Do you think she would be interested in adoption?"

With tears in her eyes Beca nodded and said "Yes, I think she would."

"Can you tell me about her?"

Just then Ava started to get fussy. Jesse motioned that he could take care of it and Beca turned back to Lisa. "I'd love to. Her name is Chloe. She's married to her college sweetheart, Josh and they have a son named Nick, who will be 5 in May."

"What happened? Why couldn't they have more children?"

Ava was still fussing. "I'll be right back." Beca walked across the room and took Ava into her arms. She immediately settled down and snuggled into Beca's chest. Beca walked back over to sit next to Lisa. "This is Ava, my youngest. She has a twin brother named Brody and that other handsome little guy over there is my oldest, Dylan, he's two and half. The big guy, is my college sweetheart and husband Jesse."

Lisa gazed at Ava. "She's beautiful."

"Thank you." she said looking at Ava's sweet little cherub face.

"Can you finish telling me about your friend?"

"Oh...sorry." Beca smiled. "Chloe has had 4 miscarriages over the last 2 years..."

"Oh my God." Lisa said cutting her off before she could continue.

"I didn't know anything until after the 4th miscarriage. That's when Josh told me that Chloe was having issues and she had severe stage 4 endometriosis. There was a lot of scarring and her Fallopian tubes were completely blocked. As a result her ovaries are severely damaged and could no longer produce eggs. The doctor did some other tests that showed that she also had some pre-cancerous cells in her uterine lining, which contributed to the miscarriage of her daughter, Brooklyn, at 14 weeks gestation." Lisa was in tears and Beca suddenly felt awful for telling her about Chloe. "I'm sorry I shouldn't have said anything."

"No, don't be. It's just... I thought things for us were so awful then you told me about your friend." Lisa looked up at Beca. "I think we were meant to cross paths today so that I could see that this baby isn't the most awful thing in the world, it's a blessing. Chloe has been through so much yet she continues to carry on. That gives me hope that Sami and I can too."

Debi and Sami walked into the waiting area a few moments later. Sami sat on the couch next to her mother; Lisa then turned to Sami and said, "Sami, this is Beca. Beca this is my daughter Sami." Beca couldn't help but notice Sami's auburn hair, freckles and big green eyes. Her hair a few shades darker than Chloe's.

"Hi Sami. It's so nice to meet to you."

"Hi, nice to meet you too." Sami said shyly.

Beca noticed Debi and her family waiting for her to walk to the back. "I have to go to the back for my check-up. It was so nice talking to you." Beca said. "Maybe we can talk more later?"

"Sure. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me. I really appreciate it." Lisa said.

"It was no problem really."

"Beca" Lisa called after her.

"Yeah." Beca said as she turned around.

"I'll be waiting here when you get back...if that's ok."

"I'd like that." Beca said with a big smile.

* * *

><p>Beca asked Debi about Lisa and Sami's situation. She said that Lisa's husband died in Iraq leaving her with Sami and her 3 younger siblings. Money was really tight and times were hard but Lisa was trying to make the best out of a bad situation. For whatever reason, Beca took an instant like to Lisa and Sami though she couldn't put a finger on why or what it was but she felt a connection.<p>

When Beca returned, Sami and Lisa were all smiles. "Beca, I told Sami about your friend Chloe. If you could arrange it, we'd love to meet her and her family."

"I can do that." Beca said smiling. "I'll be in touch with Debi when I have all the specifics worked out."

"That's nonsense." Lisa said. "Here's my number. Call me directly."

Beca pulled out her wallet and produced a business card. "Here's my card with all my contact information. I'll be in touch. Until then, if you need anything, anything at all, please call me."

"I will." Lisa said as she pulled Beca in for a hug. "Thank you."

Jesse walked over to Lisa and grabbed her hand, "Lisa, we'd like to help with groceries or bills. Whatever you need." He said handing her a large wad of cash.

"I couldn't." Lisa said shaking her head and trying to hand the money back to Jesse.

"Please, take it." he said tucking the cash back into her hand. "It's our way of saying thank you to you, your husband and your family for your service to our country. It's the least we can do."

Lisa cried. She'd never met a nicer couple and she'd only known them a hour ago. "Thank you. This will help tremendously."

Jesse handed her his business card, "Here's my business card. If for whatever reason you can't get in touch with Beca please call me."

"I don't know how we'll ever repay you."

"There's no need. Your appreciation is thanks enough. We'll talk to you soon, ok?"

"I'm looking forward to it."

* * *

><p>Over the course of the next month, Beca and Lisa stayed in contact, speaking at least a couple of times a week. Beca wanted to make absolutely sure that Lisa and Sami were positive about adoption before she introduced them to Chloe and Tom. Chloe wouldn't survive another loss so Beca had to make sure they were "Dixie Chick serious".<p>

When Sami was successfully through her first trimester, Lisa gave Beca the go ahead to call Chloe. Lisa and Sami had discussed the options at great length and decided that adoption really was the best option for them. They decided that if Chloe and Tom were anything at all like Beca and Jesse they couldn't imagine a better or more deserving family for the baby to go to.

Beca had also been spending quite a bit of time with Chloe. She had really turned a corner since having her surgery and while she still had bad days, her good days far outweighed the bad. During the course of a conversation, Chloe mentioned that she and Tom had an appointment with a local adoption agency and that they completed an adoptive family profile. When Beca watched Chloe as she spoke, she could see the old Chloe coming back to her and noted that she even found her spark again. Beca knew it was time to introduce Sami and Lisa to Chloe and Josh.

And when a position came available at Jesse's office, he immediately spoke to Cliff. He told him he had someone in mind for the position and then told him about Lisa and her family. He implored Cliff to give Lisa a chance to prove herself. Cliff agreed and called Lisa for an interview. He decided he liked her so much that he hired her on the spot, something that was so uncharacteristic of Cliff. He told Jesse that he had a good feeling about Lisa from the minute they sat down.

Cliff not only decided to offer Lisa the position but he offered her a significant pay increase as well, which would allow her family to live more comfortably. But that wasn't the end of his generosity, he also offered Sami an internship. Things were definitely looking up.


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: Sorry I took a little hiatus from this story. Please, bare with me as I'm planning to end it in the next few chapters so that I can concentrate on my other fics. I struggled quite a bit with this chapter but in the end I like how it turned out. Hope you do too.

* * *

><p>Now that Lisa and Sami were working with Jesse, that meant they had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Jesse and Beca. Beca often showed up at the office to take them out to lunch. Getting out for lunch was a simple task but to Beca is meant getting out of the house for a couple of hours and some much needed adult conversation and interaction. She hadn't gone back to work yet and to be honest she wasn't sure she would, it wasn't like they needed the money. Jesse's job more than took care of all of their needs.<p>

Having three kids under three was a lot of work and while she still did some work from home she often felt guilty because it took time away from the kids. She enjoyed being able to take Dylan to his play group on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, she generally enjoyed being with her kids as much and as often as she could. If she was away from the kids for any length of time she wondered what they were doing and more importantly, what she was missing. Yes, Beca Swanson had become that mom.

On several occasions, Sami offered to babysit the kids so Beca and Jesse could have date night. It was an offer that Jesse and Beca appreciated but they hadn't taken her up on it yet but planned to do so soon especially since Dylan really seemed to love spending time with Sami. She was the oldest of four and had a lot of experience with kids, she was a natural.

Sami was almost 16 weeks along and very excited and anxious to finally meet Chloe and Josh. Beca and Jesse always spoke highly of them and she just knew in her heart that they were the right couple to raise her baby. In some ways she felt like her dad had sent Beca and Jesse to her. They were put on her path for a reason and she just knew her dad had to be part of that.

The big day was finally upon them and everyone was nervous but no one seemed more nervous than Beca. She was so nervous that she actually lost sleep over it, not like she was sleeping a whole lot anyway, especially since the babies were still waking up at least once a night to nurse. Sami and Chloe just had to hit it off, they had to like each other, this just had to work out, it had to. She'd never forgive herself if it didn't. Jesse constantly reassured her that everything would, in fact, work out. Lisa and Sami needed to find a home for the baby and Chloe and Josh were looking to adopt, the stars seemed to be aligning perfectly.

No matter how hard he tried, Jesse couldn't get Beca to relax. So he made an appointment and sent her, against her will, to the salon for a much deserved mani/pedi. He also arranged to have the day off work so he could take Dylan and the babies to playgroup while she was gone. Playgroup was for Dylan more than the babies, since they were only 3 months old they were still too little and couldn't play yet, but they did sit and watch and occasionally squealed or squeaked.

While Beca was enjoying her pedicure she could help but check her phone, in fact, she'd checked it every five minutes since she left the house. She was worried because Jesse had all three kids and she hadn't heard from him. She had been at the salon since 10am, well over an hour and not a single word. She thought for sure that he would send her a cute picture of the babies in mismatched outfits or Dylan all sweaty, red faced and playing.

He hadn't left when she did since playgroup didn't start until 11. Which meant he had about an hour at home with the kids before he needed to leave. It would be just like Jesse to put a movie on, fall asleep and totally miss playgroup all together. As she got into her SUV to head back home she wondered if they even left the house. Unable to resist the urge any longer, she sat in the parking lot and sent Jesse a text.

Beca - 11:40am "Hey! How's it going?!"

Jesse - 11:42am "We're good. Ava & I are watching Dylan run around like a wild man and Brody is sleeping. How was the salon?"

Beca - 11:43am "Sounds fun. The salon was great, Thank you for the treat."

Jesse - 11:46am "Great! Glad you enjoyed it. Oh! I almost forgot. Please remind me where the REAL diaper bag is again. While being an awesome bag, this is not the "right" diaper bag. It is however, a contraption of unorganized chaos. Diapers, wipes, clothing and food all rolling around together like some sort of hippy love fest. It has claimed the lives of 7 diapers, 3 outfits, flipped over and spilled its contents all over the garage while I was loading the babies and their seats into my truck. Dylan chased most of it around all while yelling "Oooo, You're gonna get it. Momma's gonna be mad!" During his scavenger hunt, he somehow missed his favorite "Iranman" sippy cup and I ran over it sending it to a very early and unfortunate death. He now says we need to "barry it in da back yard next to 'Benda' da beta fish." If I ever have to deal with this madness again, I'll fill this cutesy bag with gasoline and shoot a flaming arrow into it from across the yard, blowing it all the way back to hell from which it came. Seriously, cute bag though...love the chevrons but it's not a diaper bag. Hope you're enjoying your much deserved break from me and the kids! We Love you Mommy! XOXO"

Beca laughed so hard she cried at the mental picture Jesse had just painted for her. She pictured Dylan scolding Jesse for making a mess and wished she had been a fly on the wall. What she wouldn't give to have a video of the catastrophe that took place in their garage. When she composed herself enough she responded.

Beca - 11:50am "For the record the "REAL" diaper bag is on the hook in the mudroom, right where it always is. You walked right past it. The only reason the chevron bag was so unorganized is because Dylan enjoys pulling everything out of it to entertain the babies, then he shoves it all back in. It's definitely not the "REAL" diaper bag but it is super cute. Maybe Daddy should learn to juggle all of the kids things better. PS: Why didn't you take the Diaper Dude bag that you just had to have because it was 'so cool'?"

A few minutes later, Jesse responded back.

Jesse - 11:52am "Nice babe! Damn! Forgot my cool Dad bag! So, when were you going to tell me you got pulled over?"

Knowing she hadn't told Jesse about being pulled over by the police the week before she decided to play innocent.

Beca - 11:53am "What are you talking about?"

Jesse - 11:54am "Nice try babe. Dylan ratted you out."

Beca - 11:56am "Shit! What did he say?"

Jesse - 11:58am "He said and I quote: 'Hey, dats where Momma talked to da police man! She go'd too fast! Daddy, are you going the speed 'lemon'?"

Beca - 11:59am "LOL... little shit! Speed lemon?"

Jesse - 12:00pm "That's what he said. So, you gonna tell me what happened?"

Beca - 12:01pm "We were headed home from playgroup. The babies were crying because they needed to nurse, my boobs were leaking and weighed a ton! To top things off Dylan was whining about being hungry and wanting to watch Doc McStuffins."

Jesse - 12:02pm "Wow. Ok. Outcome?"

Beca - 12:04pm "No ticket! ;) Seems cops have mercy on Mommies who cry, have 3 hungry babies and heavy, leaky boobs!"

Jesse - 12:05pm "LOL! Well, we're all loaded up and will be home in a few. Love you!"

Beca - 12:06pm "I love you more! PS: HURRY! I miss my babies!"

Jesse - 12:07pm "Wow! I'm really feeling the love babe."

Beca - 12:08pm "Oh, trust me... You will be as soon as the kids are down for their nap. ;)"

Jesse - 12:09pm "YES! Be home in 10!"

* * *

><p>When Beca got up on Saturday morning there was lots to do, she wanted everything to be perfect. With three little ones things seemed to take ten times as long to get done. The morning started just like every other morning did, with 3 hungry kiddos, 2 sleep deprived parents and 1 overly excited dog, who wanted nothing more that to run around and play.<p>

Beca and Jesse worked well as a team and she knew they would manage to get everything done on time. As she sat on their bed nursing the twins, Jesse took Dylan in their bathroom to brush his teeth. Dylan was unaware that Beca could see him or that she was watching. She giggled as he touched the tip of his tongue to the toothpaste on his brush. He pulled the tooth brush away, shook his head and made an icky face.

"Dylan, brush your teeth." She told him. Getting down off his stool, he ran into the bedroom to talk to Beca. "Don't run with your toothbrush in your hand."

"Sorry Mommy."

"It's ok. Now why aren't you brushing your teeth?"

"Mommy, I not like your teefpase." he said making the icky face again. "It burn my tongue. See." pointing to his tongue.

"Ok baby." Beca said ruffling his wavy brown locks.

"I want da 'piderman kind."

"I know buddy."

"Daddy! Come 'mere!" Dylan bellowed causing Ava to jump. "Sorry Ava." he said kissing her head

"Hey Jess..." Beca called a little more quietly.

"Yeah babe." He said pulling his t-shirt over his head as he walked into their bedroom.

"You put the wrong toothpaste on Dylan's brush."

"Oh shit. Sorry dude."

"Momma, Daddy say'd a bad word."

"Yes, he did. What happens when we say a bad word?"

"He hafta put money in da jar and he gets a time out!" Dylan said pointing to his time out chair in the corner. He took Jesse's hand and walked him to the time out corner. "You hafta stay dere til Momma says you can get out." Beca bit her lip trying not to laugh as Dylan put his Daddy in time out.

Jesse looked at Beca and mouthed "Save me."

"Nuh uh buddy! You did the crime, you do the time." she said laughing.

"Crime time!" Dylan said stomping his foot and pointing at Jesse.

"Hey bud, what happens when it's time to get out?"

Dylan sat on the floor next to Jesse. "Momma says not to do dat again den she gives you hugs and kisses."

Jesse laughed. "Sounds like you've spent some time in the chair."

"Yeah. Momma put me dere yes'erday cuz I poked'd Ava in da eye and make her cry."

"Dude, that's not nice."

Dylan shrugged his shoulders and said, "Ehh, I didn't mean it. She turned'd her head."

"You know, she's not gonna be a baby forever. One day she's gonna be big enough to get you back."

"No." Dylan said shaking his head. "She gonna be liddle like Momma."

"Dude! Don't let Momma hear you say that."

Dylan stood up, shrugged his shoulders and said "Bye Daddy! I'm gonna go play now!"

Jesse just watched as he ran off to play in the family room. He couldn't believe how big Dylan had gotten in such a short amount of time. He was a little person now, someone they could actually have conversations with; he was taking piano lessons and banging on guitar strings. It felt like he should still be in arms like Brody and Ava were. Where had the time gone? When did their baby grow up?

While Jesse did his time in the time out chair, Beca finished nursing and burping the babies. She let Jesse sit for about 20 minutes before sneaking up behind him wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him. "Hey potty mouth. You ready to be saved from the chair?"

"Yes, please." He said standing up.

Beca wrapped her arms around his waist, "Was it just awful?"

"Yeah. My butt hurts because the seat isn't padded." Jesse said.

Beca winked, "Oh, you have plenty of padding." she said rubbing his butt.

Between kisses, Jesse asked, "Where are the kids?"

"Brody and Ava are napping and Dylan is playing at Stacie's."

"Mmm...convenient."

"Uh huh...so are we gonna waste time talking?"

"No way!" he said backing her up toward their bed, clothes being shed along the way.

* * *

><p>Chloe and Josh were right on time. When Beca answered the door, Chloe all but knocked her down she was so excited.<p>

Looking around, Chloe asked, "Is she here?"

"Not yet." Beca said closing the front door. "But she will be soon." Chloe looked a little deflated.

"Are y'all staying?" Chloe asked when she saw that Beca packing the diaper bag.

"No, we're going next door so Dylan can play with Colton. We want to give y'all some time to get to know one another privately."

"Mom," Nick said looking up at Chloe and patting her on her tummy. "I want to go with Aunt Beca and Uncle Jesse."

Kneeling down next to her son, she asked "You don't want to meet our new friends Lisa and Sami?"

"No, I want to play with Dylan and Colton."

"Bec, is it ok for Nick to go with you?"

"Absolutely. Come bud, let's go invade Aunt Stacie's house."

"Thanks Bec."

"No problem. Make yourselves at home. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen."

* * *

><p>Chloe paced the floor, wringing her hands and worrying about meeting Sami and Lisa. Beca had been the go between for them up until this point but today could be the make or break decision. Josh finally got her to join him on the couch to wait. The wait seemed to take forever. Had Sami and Lisa changed their minds? When Chloe hear cars doors close outside her heart stopped and she squeezed Josh's hand. "This is it." she said as she walked toward the door.<p>

Though their forms were slightly distorted by the leaded glass and decorative wrought iron on the front doors of the Swanson house, Chloe could still make our their faces and Sami's barely there baby bump as they walked up to the house. Chloe counted to three before opening the door.

"Hi Lisa, Sami…" Chloe said. "please come in. I'm Chloe and this is my husband Josh."

"It's so very nice to finally meet you both." Lisa said. "Beca and Jesse have told us so much about you."

Josh showed them to the family room, where they all took a seat and stared, no one really knowing what to say. Chloe took note at how beautiful Sami was. She was tall, probably about 5'8" or so with long, willowy legs and a slender build. She had long, thick auburn hair, big green eyes and freckles. She was stunning.

Sami hadn't really said more than hello since they arrived and finally decided she was the one that should break the silence. "I'm 16." she started catching the adults in the room off guard. "I'm the oldest of four kids. I have 2 brothers, Zachary and Matthew, and I have one sister, Olivia. I like to cook, bake, read and listen to music. I run track, play volleyball and I'm a member of the theater company at my high school. Well, I used to do those things before…" she said looking down at her tiny baby bump. After taking a moment to compose herself, Sami continued, "Is there anything else you'd like to know?"

"Oh Sami, honey, if you're not ready to do this today we don't have to." Chloe said reaching over to take Sami's hand. She fully expected Sami to pull back but was pleasantly surprised when she didn't.

"No, I want to do this today. I've been waiting for this day for such a long time." Sami told her. "Beca said you have a son, Nick, I believe. Is he here?"

"He's next door with Beca and Jesse playing with the boys." Josh told her. "I'll go get him in a few minutes."

Sami's face lit up. "That would be great." She said. "I'd really love to meet him."

The four continued to talk about their backgrounds. Somethings causing rivers of tears to emerge. Lisa told Chloe and Josh about her husband's tours in Iraq as well as Afghanistan and that a roadside bomb caused his death.

"When did Michael pass?" Chloe asked carefully.

"March 26th was a year." Lisa said wiping her eyes.

"We're very sorry for your loss." Josh said not really knowing what else to say.

"Thank you. It's been very difficult, especially for Zach and Matt."

"I can't even begin to imagine." Josh admitted. Chloe was sitting next to him in tears. "How old are the boys?"

"Matt is 14 and Zach will be 9 in November."

"I don't want to overstep here, but I'd love to help you with them if I can." Josh offered. "Maybe we can play basketball or go to a Dodgers game. Just hang out, you know… do guy stuff." he smiled.

"That's very sweet. They'd love that. Thank you."

Everyone seemed to be getting more comfortable with each other and conversation was much easier to come by. Chloe explained her medical issues what it would mean to be able to give Nick a sibling. Poor Josh was stuck in a house with three emotional, crying women and decided to make himself by going next door to get Nick.

"Sami, do you know if the baby is a boy or a girl?" Chloe asked.

"Mrs. Debi told me last week that the baby is a boy."

"Oh my gosh! How sweet? A boy!" Chloe said as she wiped tears from her eyes.

"Did you have a preference?" Sami asked.

"Absolutely not. We just want to give Nick a sibling by any means possible."

Josh and Nick returned a few minutes later. Nick immediately took a liking to Sami. He sat in her lap as she read a couple of books to him while Lisa spoke to Chloe and Josh. They spoke about Sami's medical history, vaccinations and other random things. Occasionally Sami would steal glances as they chatted like old friends

After she finished reading "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" Sami asked, "Do you want to go play outside with Laney for a bit?"

Nick jumped off Sami's lap and walked toward the door. As he reached for the knob, he turned around and asked, "Sami, are you gonna give us your baby?"


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N:** This chapter is for you Raven12. You have been one of my biggest supporters and that's a gift that keeps giving with each and every chapter I write. Thank you for your friendship, constant support and encouraging words. I hope this chapter was well worth the wait. Happy Belated Birthday Chick!

* * *

><p><strong>Last time: <strong>

_Nick jumped off Sami's lap and walked toward the door. As he reached for the knob, he turned around and asked, "Sami, are you gonna give us your baby?"_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 26<strong>

Chloe gasped. She immediately thought back to what she and Josh had told Nick. They hadn't said anything to him about Sami being pregnant, only that she was a new friend of Aunt Beca and Uncle Jesse's. So, how did he know?

"Nick… how do you know Sami's having a baby?" Josh asked, smoothing down his shirt nervously.

"I felt him move."

"You felt _him_ move?" Josh asked kneeling down next to his son.

"Yes Dad. He did this." Nick said taking Josh's hand and tapping his palm lightly.

Everyone looked at Sami. "I did feel the baby move but I didn't think Nick could feel it."

Josh excused himself and Nick into the studio while Chloe tried to smooth things over with Sami and Lisa.

"I'm so sorry. We didn't tell him. I swear." Chloe said crying. "We didn't want him to be upset if you didn't choose us, so just didn't say anything to him about the baby."

"It's ok." Sami said hugging Chloe. "Do you want to feel?"

Chloe looked at Sami shocked. She thought for sure that any chance they had of adopting the baby was gone. "Are you sure?"

Sami took Chloe's hand in hers and pressed it to her bump, holding it in place for Chloe to feel the kicks. Sami took a moment to look over at Lisa. She was crying but nodded at Sami in acknowledgement of the silent question. "Can you feel _your _baby?" Sami asked.

Chloe gasped and tears began to run down her face as she felt the baby move within Sami's belly. "_My_ baby?" Chloe managed to ask. "Are you serious?"

"Yes… he's _your_ baby." Sami reiterated. "I knew the minute I met you that he was yours."

Sniffling Chloe looked at her, "Really?"

"I felt an immediate connection." With her hand still over Chloe's she said, "This is the first time he's moved around this much. I think he knows you're going to be his Mommy."

"Oh my God. Thank you! Thank you!" Chloe said as she pulled Sami into a huge bear hug.

Josh heard the commotion and came back into the family room, pulling Nick behind him who now looked a little sheepish after Josh had had words with him. "Babe, are you ok?"

"I'm better than ok." She said as she started walking toward him, holding out her arms, needing to feel her husbands arms around her, seeing as they had just found out they were going to be expanding their family for certain. "Sami wants us to adopt the baby."

Josh pulled Chloe into a hug, kissing the top of her head. Making eye contact with Sami and Lisa he said, "Thank you."

Both nodded and allowed the couple a few moments to process what had just taken place.

"Can I tell Nick?" Sami asked.

"Absolutely."

Sami sat on the couch and patted her lap. "Nick, come see."

"What's up?" he asked as he crawled into her lap and looked up at her with his big blue eyes.

Sami took Nick's little hand and placed it on her bump. "Do you feel that?"

"Yes."

"That's your baby brother."

Nick smiled. "Cuz Mommy can't grow him in her belly… huh?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"You know," Nick started, before turning to Sami. "He comes from our heart because we prayed for him."

"I know you did and I'm really glad I can help your family."

"Thanks for being friends with my Aunt Beca and Uncle Jesse." Nick smiled. "They're so cool huh?"

Sami chuckled. "Yep, they sure are and you're one of the sweetest little boys I know. You're gonna be an awesome big brother."

"Yeah, I'm gonna read to him and share my Legos." Nick said proudly. "And I'll give him my favorite fire truck too."

"That's so awesome Nick."

* * *

><p>In June, the girls planned a huge surprise baby shower for Chloe. They bought everything the baby could possibly need or want and then some. Chloe had gotten rid of everything she had from when Nick was a baby and was literally starting over.<p>

On the day of the shower, everyone arrived at Beca's house early prepared to start decorating and helping out with the food, except Amy who thought that somehow Beca was going to wave her fairy wand and everything would magically be in place. She forgot that, just because Beca was tiny, that didn't mean she _was_ a fairy despite being given several magical fairy wands over the years.

Amy was in charge of getting the cake and other sweets for the shower since sweets were her area of expertise. She certainly didn't disappoint, in fact, it looked as though she had bought out the entire bakery. She arrived bearing homemade candies in the shape of rubber ducks, petit fours, mini cheesecakes, brownies, cake balls, cookies and a three tiered cake with a rubber duckie in a bathtub on top.

Beca called Amy into the kitchen and forced a huge punch bowl into her hands. "Amy, please make yourself useful and prepare the punch for the shower."

"Aye aye Tinkerbell. I'd say Captain but even after having three babies you're still too little to be the Captain." Amy told her.

Beca rolled her eyes. "The pineapple sherbet for the punch is in the freezer. There's fresh pineapple and Ginger Ale in the fridge." Beca said totally ignoring the fact that Amy was once again making fun of her size.

"Got it. Anything else?"

"Just make sure we don't run out of punch. It's Chloe's favorite."

"I can do that." Amy said before laughing evilly.

Amy followed Beca's instructions to a 'T' knowing that if she didn't Beca would have her head on a platter. Last thing she wanted or needed was to cross the wee one. Although Amy decided to forget the instructions that the pineapple punch should be alcohol free; she couldn't see the harm in it considering that Chloe wasn't pregnant this time. It was too good an opportunity to miss.

Empty the contents of the flask from her cleavage into the cool liquid, she added just a dash more sherbert to ensure it would pass inspection.

Setting out the bowl on the table, she filled a solo cup with ice and scooped out a small cupful to give to Beca to try. Knowing Beca was too distracted with bows and ribbons to be concerned with the fact that the punch tasted of flavored vodka. "Tastes amazing Amy, thank you." Beca said never taking her eyes off her task. "Will you please stir the meatballs. They're in the crockpot on the counter."

"Sure thing ... _Tink!_" Amy giggled knowing that she got the spiked punch past the warden.

Amy opened the lid of the crockpot and the heavenly smell wafted through the air. She couldn't resist. She just had to try one. She told herself that she was the guinea pig and that she was taking one for the team. In reality she loved Beca's cooking and couldn't wait for a taste. As she was sinking her fork into a meatball, Beca's voice could be heard but Amy couldn't see her, "Put it back! Those are for the shower."

"Damn Beca! Are you part owl?"

Beca laughed. "No but I should have known better than to ask you to stir the meatballs."

"Beca, how do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Get things done with a baby attached to the tit?"

"Amy! There's kids around."

"Yeah… so?"

"So watch your mouth."

"Well, if I have to watch my mouth then you have to put the teet away."

"You would seriously deny my daughter nourishment?"

"Well… I… umm… uhh…"

Beca kissed Ava's chubby cheek and said, "Don't listen to mean ol' Aunt Amy. You can eat until your tummy is full my sweet girl." Beca couldn't help but laugh at Ava's toothless grin. She loved her boys with all her might but there was some about the sweet baby girl that just made Beca melt.

* * *

><p>They got Chloe there under the rouse that it was Colton's birthday party. When Chloe arrived later the baby shower was in full swing. The guys were hanging out with the kids in the pool and the girls were inside doing "girly baby showery shit" as Donald had put it.<p>

"Amy, did you organise the games?" Beca asked, coming through to the kitchen with Brody on her hip. He had just woken from his nap and was ready for cuddles with his aunts and uncles.

"What games?" Amy asked, turning around with her hands behind her back.

"The shower games?" Beca asked again. "Amy? What are you hiding?"

"Um nothing?"

"Amy! You're digging in the cake balls already?! They're supposed to be... urgh, you-"

"Oh, the shower games were for today. I thought you meant that... well, I misunderstood that instructions." Amy said, distracting Beca to avoid her having to put the other two cake balls back.

"How?" Beca said, reaching for a few solo cups.

"Shower games; I took that to mean me and TJ were to have fun in the shower whilst I was... oh hell, I don't know."

"So, are you telling me that we don't have any games to play?" Beca asked, taking Amy by the arm and pulling her out of the kitchen.

"Come on Becs, this is me you're talking to. I can make shit like up in my sleep." Amy laughed as they rejoined the group in the backyard where the guys were sitting on the side of the pool while the kids splashed around.

"Suddenly I am afraid." Beca said, handing over Brody and the cups to Jesse who took his son easily.

"Okay, well... let's start with an old favorite then. Let's tell something to the group that no one else knows about."

"Aren't we a little old for that?"

"Oooh, I've got something." Stacie said, struggling to stand up from the lawn chair. "I eat a lot of mustard."

"Yeah, we know Stacie." Amy mused, taking a seat in the midst of the group.

"Only 'cuz I just told you."

"No hunny, it's the various splatters of mustard you have your shirt." Chloe said, subtly pointing to one of Bryan's old Treble tee shirts that Stacie was using for maternity wear.

"Ah, but did you know..." Bryan began, walking up to the group with a fresh drink for Stacie. "... that she likes to coat each French fry in mustard using her fingers and then licks it off her hands."

"Yeah, that's weird. Even for me." Amy muttered.

"I once had a bet with an old school friend..." Lily began. "... to see how long we could grow our toe nails."

"Eeew." The collective chorus went up.

"I couldn't do it but I didn't tell and her nails grew so long, they started clicking on the floor like a dog." Lily finished.

"I dated a guy for a few weeks in my first year at Barden. Do you remember him, Troy, or something? I couldn't handle the fact he wore the same deodorant as my mother!" Aubrey laughed out.

"Oh I remember him!" Chloe giggled. "He ate peas, one at a time, right?"

"I broke up with a guy that I hadn't been seeing for very long. Didn't even get round to telling you guys about it." Amy said. "He made weird sounds while doing things. He'd sit in a chair and say 'plopppp hehe' and he'd fluff pillows and say 'foof foof foof hehe'. Oh, and the remote control would be 'pschew pschew hehe' and don't get me started on the noises he made when we went out to eat."

"But that was the guy that you dumped because he wouldn't fast forward through the commercials!" A deep male voice cut through the conversation.

"TJ!" Amy said, twisting in her seat. "When did you, why are you ... you're here?!"

"Hey bud!" Jesse said, rounding up to TJ's side to shake his hand. "Long time no see."

"You do exist!" Lily said, a reminiscent eeriness to her voice.

"We thought you didn't like us!" Stacie laughed out.

"Nah!" TJ said, accepting the beer from Donald who had also come to greet him. TJ raised his beer in the general direction of everyone else. "Been working long hours at the hotel to save up some money so we could get it done."

"Oh yeah? Got plans in the making."

"Not now TJ." Amy said, a hint of panic dancing across her forehead.

"What?" TJ said, looking confused and not understanding Amy's eye wiggles and facial movements.

"Just-"

"Amy, what are you up to?" Beca asked sharply.

"Ummm, errrr, ummmm."

"Oh no ma'am, you don't get to start that crap. This is 'fess up time. What have you been up to?"

"Ohmygod!" Stacie said, her eyes widening like saucers. "Are you preg-"

"What? No! Nothing like that!" Amy laughed out.

"Whoops." TJ said, leaning down to kiss Amy on the cheek. "Let the cat out of the bag now! Sorry!"

He was laughing as he walked off with Jesse and Donald who left their women rounding on Amy.

"Well?" Beca asked, standing up and putting Ava on her hip.

"Okaybutdon'tgetmadnowit'sjustthatTJandIgotmarriedthreeweeksagoforhisbirthday." Amy wheezed out in one breath whilst trying to stand up at the same time.

"What?"

"Nothing, it fuels my hate fire." Amy said, struggling to stand up.

"Wait, did you just say that you and TJ got married three weeks ago."

There was a moment of silence before all the girls starting speaking at once. Over by the pool, the guys all looked around each other and then at TJ who was quite happy sipping on his beer.

"Congrats man." Jesse said, clapping him on the back to a chorus of cheers and well done's. They all looked over towards the girls who were surrounding Amy like chocoholics at a Hershey's sale. "I think your missus is gonna to have some 'splainin' to do!"

"What do you mean you got married?" Beca asked, her mouth dropping open in amazement at Amy's news.

"We kinda got dressed up ... well TJ changed into a clean shirt ... and we went to the little white chapel and we-"

"Tell me, you didn't get married by a fat, drunk Elvis?!" Stacie laughed.

"No! We didn't!" Amy giggled and took a swig from her punch cup. She kept the cup up by her mouth to muffle her words. "He wasn't available!"

"Amy!"

"What Beca?"

"Why didn't you tell anyone? Did you not want us there?"

"Neither of us wanted a fuss."

"Well, there's such a thing as not having a fancy wedding and sneaking off to do it behind everyone's back."

"I never wanted a fancy wedding. I never thought I'd find someone who'd be crazy enough to marry me. I never wanted the white wedding and the poofy dress and someone messing about with flowers and paying over the odds for a cake. TJ's a great guy and in him I found someone who doesn't always want to stab me with a fork and he seems to like me too. So we-"

"Amy?" Beca said, stopping her.

"Beca, don't. Please. I was going to tell everyone and then it just got weird and I didn't know what to say. Too much time passed so I was just gonna mention it on -"

"Amy?" Beca tried again.

"We were going to throw a big party at Christmas and do a little bit of a surprise shout out 'cuz I figured no one gets mad at Christmas, right? So -"

"AMY!"

"What?" Amy said, lifting her eyes to meet Beca's.

"Will you shut up for a minute and let me say 'congratulations'!"

"Oh, um, sure." Amy said, finally taking in the big smiles on her friends faces.

"Congratulations Amy! For goodness sake, come here and give us all a great big hug!"

The girls flocked around Amy congratulating her and asking to see the ring. TJ's extra shifts had been plenty enough to get Amy the ring she deserved and everyone asked to hear all the details.

"I never thought I'd be one to elope or get married without my friends by my side." Amy admitted. "But it was right for us and the way we wanted to do things."

"Then it was a perfect wedding." Beca said grinning.

"And I could tell you all the things you could do with wedding cake-"

Clearing her throat, Beca said, "-Amy... there's kids around."

"Oh yeah, sorry."

"You're right... you do owe us a party at Christmas!" Chloe said. "And I think it's time we celebrated with something a bit stronger than pineapple punch."

"Oh yeah..." Amy said, remembering something and starting to laugh. "... about that."

* * *

><p>On July 7th, after many hours of labor and countless death threats, Stacey and Bryan welcomed their second child, a daughter, Phoebe Marie. Phoebe was the perfect carbon copy of her mother. From her chocolate brown curls and rosy cheeks to her big, expressive blue eyes and long slender legs.<p>

Of course, when Amy visited she just had to bring up that Phoebe was born taller than Ava despite the fact that Ava was 6 months older. She went further and said that one day, Phoebe's legs would be longer than Ava's entire body and would more than likely be wrapped around a pole.

Colton loved his baby sister and doted on her like a princess. He had watched Dylan with Brody and Ava and was obviously taking mental notes. Any time Phoebe cried, Colton was right there to comfort and love her. Colton asked Bryan to help him make a special belt so that he could carry around a pacifier, a few small toys and blanket so that he always had something ready for his sister for when she cried.

He loved showing his baby sister off to everyone. At the grocery store, he would puff his little chest out when someone said how cute he was. When Bryan dropped him off at preschool, he would run in without saying goodbye to tell all the teachers what 'Fee bees' had done the day before.

Stacie fell easily into the role of 'mom of two'. They were lucky that Phoebe was an easy baby with a sunny disposition and while the lack of sleep disrupted their family life for a few weeks, it wasn't as stressful as they thought it would be.

Everything was going well until Phoebe came down with colic and cried solidly for two weeks. The pediatrician was amazing and with a little extra care and advice, Phoebe was soon settled again but Stacie's nerves were shot to pieces. With Bryan back at work full time, she knew he needed his rest but she hardly slept at all. In an attempt to help, Beca had Colton over to stay for a couple of days but it was clear that Stacie needed some time out.

As she was still breastfeeding Phoebe, Beca and Amy took them _both_ out to a local day spa and entertained the tiny little girl who could turn heads with her happy smile. Stacie was grateful for their help in taking Phoebe for a couple of hours while she relaxed during her mani/pedi, despite many reservations whether she would be okay or not. Beca's reassurances helped put her at ease.

After her manicure was finished, Stacie knew little Phoebe would be hungry so called Beca to see where they were to meet up. She was surprised after the second time of calling that Beca didn't answer her phone but she wasn't worried as she trusted Beca to look after her daughter.

What she didn't know was that while she was having her nails filed and polished, Beca decided to run an errand or two after finishing her coffee. She left very strict instructions for Amy to not move from Starbucks, knowing she wasn't going to be more than ten minutes or so. She didn't think that Amy couldn't get into too much trouble while she was gone.

Amy tried to be responsible as she stood up to get herself a second cup of Joe, parking Phoebe's stroller to the side of the coffee shop, out of the way so she could keep an eye on her. But the slabs of cheesecake distracted Amy for a moment and she didn't imagine for one minute that another Mom would do the same with her baby and when Amy came back to sit down, she'd have picked the wrong stroller, which coincidentally was exactly the same color and make as the one Stacie used.

It wasn't until later, when Beca came back to collect them both and they'd already left Starbucks that she asked Amy if she'd changed Phoebe's diaper. Amy replied with a wrinkled nose and an _'ewww, no, that was above and beyond my aunt duties'_ so Beca made a pit stop to change Phoebe. Amy waited outside and perched herself on one of the seats checking her messages when she heard an enormous shriek that sounded suspiciously like Beca. She grinned to herself, glad that she wasn't on diaper duty if it had made the mom of three squeal in surprise. Amy was about to send a message to Stacie when Beca flew out of the restroom, tripping over her purse and getting twisted up with the wheels of the stroller.

"Amy! What did you do?"

"What?" Amy said, looking down her top for crumbs. "What have I done?"

"Where's Phoebe?"

"Umm ... in there?" Amy said, pointing to the stroller currently being rocked by Beca as she threw her purse over her shoulder. She looked confusedly at Beca who stood shaking her head violently back and forth. Amy thought she'd gone mad.

Beca spun the stroller around and pulled off the blanket revealing a surprised looking baby.

"Notice anything different?" Beca asked.

"Umm ... should I?"

"Not one thing about this baby?"

"She's cute?" Amy said.

"Amy! Look closely!"

"I dunno Becs, all babies look the same to me. What's going on?"

Beca bent down and gently took off the baby's hat.

"Oh! Stacie's dyed Phoebe's hair blonde. She did a good job. Although I don't understand why she'd do that."

"Amy? Are you serious?"

"What Beca, what?

"Stacie didn't dye the baby's hair blonde. And she certainly didn't change Phoebe into a boy!"

"A what?"

"A boy!"

"What do you mean?"

"This baby isn't Phoebe."

"Of course it is?" Amy said weakly.

"Where did you get a blonde haired, blue eyed baby _boy_ from Amy?"

"Umm, is that a trick question cos I wasn't all that good at biology in school."

"Amy!"

"They really all do look the same to me. And ... well, you didn't notice either!" Amy said weakly.

"So not the point."

"Okay, okay ... I was in Starbucks and there was cheesecake and I got distracted 'cuz there were M&M's in it and ... Beca! Wait up!"

Beca began to run back down towards Starbucks, ignoring the ringing of her phone as she dodged old ladies on mobility scooters and people with far too many shopping bags. She was aware of Amy running behind if the yelps of 'I'm vertical running! I'm vertical running' behind her where anything to go by. Arriving at the door only seconds behind Beca, she bent forward with her hands on her knees and gulped in the air.

"Where's the baby's Mom?" Beca asked, as she reached out to pull open the door of Starbucks,

"How do I know?" Amy said, scanning the cafe as she walked through the door. "There was M&M cheesecake and ... OH SHIT!"

"What?" Beca said, spinning around.

"It's Stacie and she looks pissed."

"Amy! Beca!" Stacie yelled, coming forward with a face like thunder. "Where in the hell have you two been?!"

She reached her friends within three easy strides and bent down to push back the hood of the stroller and check on the baby.

"We... um..." Amy started.

"It's okay Lydia..." Stacie said loudly over her shoulder to the crying lady sitting on one of the couches by the till. The baby's Mom saw the group still standing by the door and jumped up from the sofa. "... they are here. Tell the cops it's all okay."

"Cops?" Amy gulped.

"Oh my little Finnick Orion! My sweet baby boy! I'm so happy you're safe." Lydia said as she breathed a sigh of relief.

"What? That's his name? Kid needs to be-"

"Just give the lady back her baby Amy. You've got explaining to do."

Lydia rushed to the door and scooped up little Finnick, holding him to her cheek. She turned from the group and Amy grinned.

"No harm done." Amy said, looking delighted. "We can forget about all this now."

"I don't think so!" Stacie said. "Do you mind telling me how you left my baby in a Starbucks?"

"How did you even-"

"I finished up at the salon a little early and decided to walk down here to look for you...that's when I saw Phoebe, who I didn't know was Phoebe at the time, in the window. I thought how similar she looked so I came in to talk to the Mom, whose husband is an attorney by the way so ... urgh, just ..."

"Carry on Stacie, it's okay." Beca said, pushing Stacie back onto a chair.

"So I came in and said to the Mom that my daughter has that same outfit as her little girl and how adorable it was. She looked over towards the stroller and peeked in and said '_it is but I don't have a daughter and I don't dress my son like a gir_l' and then she realized that the stroller next to her wasn't hers and then she couldn't find little Finnick so we called the cops to report a stolen baby. It was then that I realized Phoebe was here without you and..." Stacie broke down and began to cry. "... I was ready to kill you for leaving her."

"It's okay, it's okay." Beca said, reaching out to Stacie. "I know."

"No, you don't Beca! You don't! I've been holding this back but I didn't really bond with Phoebe after she was born. I put up a front so you wouldn't think of me as a bad Mom."

"I don't!" Beca said, tucking a few loose strands of Stacie's hair behind her ear.

"I guess with Colton and then the new baby and Bry working so much, the bonding took longer than I thought. And then when I thought she was missing or not missing or you'd left her or whatever I felt... I felt everything. All the love and need to protect her and... it was overwhelming. And then this poor mother realized her baby was missing and I tried to reassure her that Finnick had to be with you guys since our strollers were similar and all and she said that even the dumbest person couldn't mistake a blonde haired boy and a brown haired girl and then I had to explain about Amy and THEN, you weren't answering my calls-"

"Wait, what do you mean you had to explain about me?" Amy asked, looking confused.

Beca turned to stare at her, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

"What?" Amy asked. "It wasn't my fault. I thought I'd put her in the safe spot, out of the way and then Mama Perfect over there put her stroller next to us."

Amy tucked her head onto her shoulder and wiped the lone tear that was running down her cheek. Beca and Stacie looked at each other with sideward glances as Amy never cried.

"The strollers looked the same and the cheesecake distracted me and I didn't even want the cheesecake as it made me feel queasy and then I forgot that I was even waiting for Beca and then there was the stinky diaper that made me feel even more sick to my stomach which is unlike me. And now I feel even more sick that you won't ever trust me with your kids again."

Beca and Stacie continued to look at each other and the corners of Beca's mouth twitched.

"You or me?" Stacie asked.

"I'll go. Amy?"

"Yes." Amy sniffed.

"Tears? Not wanting cheesecake? Forgetfulness? Feeling queasy? Guilt?"

"Yeah, so?" Amy sniffed even harder.

"It all adds up to one thing?"

"What?" Amy asked.

"Are you pregnant?" Beca asked.

"Oh sweet Jesus help us if you are?" Stacie laughed, standing up and pulling Phoebe's stroller towards her.

"Ummmmmm, errrr, ummmm..."

* * *

><p><strong>Two and a half months later…<strong>

Sami's due date was getting close and Chloe was nervous, as any expectant Mom would be. She hadn't had a baby in the house in a while and while she was excited about it, she was also nervous that she wouldn't bond with the baby in the same way she did when Nick was born. She kept herself busy and tried not to worry too much.

Thanks to the girls and the amazing baby shower they had hosted, the baby's room was ready. His clothes were washed, the diapers and wipes were stored in the changing table and Nick had carefully and considerately donated a few of his toys to the baby's new room. Now the only thing missing was the baby and Chloe couldn't wait to bring him home.

When it came to decorating the baby's room, Chloe had an idea of what she wanted to do but ultimately it was Nick who had made her change her mind. He made her think of something that she never would have entertained before.

During one of their many visits with Sami and her family, Nick was told of Michael's military service. While shopping for decor, Chloe asked Nick if he liked the train motif she selected. He immediately said "No", folding his arms for effect. So she showed him several other different themes. His answer after seeing each one was "No." After all of her ideas were rejected, four different times to be exact, Chloe finally asked Nick what it was that he had in mind. He took her hand and walked over to a bedding set that was camouflage with a light khaki trim and had stars and airplanes on it. "I like this one. We can get him a Build-A-Bear dressed in camo too Mom." Nick said excitedly.

While camo was so far from what Chloe had envisioned, what Nick picked was actually perfect and would be a great tribute to Sami's dad. Josh looked confused when he got home later that evening and Chloe took him into the finished nursery. He was expecting to see trains or cutesy bears.

"What's all this?"

"It was all Nick's idea." she told him.

Josh smiled. "He really is going to be an amazing big brother." Josh said hugging Chloe tightly.

On September 29th, one week before her due date, Sami went into labor. When Debi confirmed that this was indeed the real thing, Lisa called Chloe and Josh to come to the birthing center.

After 22 hours of labor, Sami delivered a healthy seven pound ten ounce baby boy. The moment the baby was placed in Chloe's arms she broke down, smothering his tiny face with kisses and whispering promises for the future into his ears. She couldn't believe her son was there and that she was holding him. Josh had to fight for a turn to cuddle him and he didn't care who saw the tears fall from his eyes, shed in happiness for the second son he never thought they would have.

Chloe, Josh and Nick were allowed time to bond with the baby while Sami recovered from the delivery. Chloe sent a stream of messages to the girls, letting them know the baby had arrived safely and that Sami was doing well after the delivery. They took photo after photo and when Nick was allowed to cuddle the baby and he puffed out his chest with pride.

After a couple of hours, Josh fell asleep in the birthing room directly across the hall from Sami's room, the baby laid out peacefully on his chest, Nick curled up tightly into his side with one hand on the baby's leg. Chloe left her sleeping boys and asked if asked if Sami was up to having visitors. When Debi told her that Sami had been waiting to see them all, Chloe immediately went in to wake Josh and Nick.

With the baby in her arms and Nick holding Josh's hand they entered Sami's room. She sat up and welcomed them in with a smile and a wave.

Chloe walked over to the side of the bed and placed the baby in Sami's arms. She hadn't held him since right after the birth.

"What's his name?" Sami asked as she stared down at his tiny perfect little face.

"Oooh Mom… can I tell her?" Nick asked jumping up and down.

"Go for it buddy."

Nick carefully crawled up onto the bed and in a very dramatic, Chloe-like way, he said, "Can I have a drum roll please."

Josh began the drum roll by tapping his hands on his legs. When Nick was ready he said, "It is a great honor and pleasure to introduce to you ... Michael Andrew Hunter Paxton!"

Lisa burst into tears and Sami looked dumbfounded. "Really? After my dad?"

"There was no other name that suited him better. He's most definitely a Michael." Chloe told her, tucking a kiss onto the top of the baby's head before reaching over to hug Sami.

"It's quite the coincidence that Michael was born today." Josh announced.

"Really? Why is that?" Sami asked as she gazed at Michael and played with his tiny fingers.

"Today is the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel." Josh told her.

Sami smiled. "Oh wow! That's so cool."

"When I looked up St. Michael, I found out a few very interesting things." Josh pulled his phone out and began to read. "'_Michael's first role is the leader of the Army of God and the leader of Heaven's forces in their triumph over the powers of hell. He is viewed as the angelic model for the virtues of the spiritual warrior, with the conflict against evil at times viewed as the battle within.'_"

"That's really cool. Especially since my dad was in the Army." Sami said excitedly. "What else did you find out?"

"_In his second role, Michael is the angel of death. He carries the souls of all the deceased to heaven."_ Josh kissed the baby's head and sat on the edge of the bed. "Your dad is responsible for bringing Michael to all of us."

"We're blessed and lucky to know that Michael has his own personal angel watching over him." Chloe told her as she handed Sami and Lisa each a small box.

"What's this?"

"A small token of our appreciation. It's only the start of what we are trying to say."

Sami passed Michael over to Chloe and began unwrapping the small box. Inside each box was a charm bracelet with a pair of angel wings and a heart already attached. Also in the boxes were a couple of birthstone charms.

"We were unsure when the baby would come so we got September and October birthstones. Now that we know he's a September baby, I'll return the October charms and get each of you something else to put on your bracelet."

Lisa sat in stunned silence. She never imagined that she and Sami would be so blessed to find such a wonderful, loving couple to adopt the baby. Lisa tried not to think about who the baby would be going home with had they not met Beca that day.

* * *

><p>As it turns out, Amy <em>was<em> pregnant and had been for a couple of months when she found out. The news of a baby left Amy and TJ scrambling. They still lived in a suite at the hotel but knew they couldn't raise a baby in a hotel and casino. They began the treacherous task of house hunting but soon found a comfortable family home in Spring Valley, not far from the Las Vegas strip.

They settled into a real domestic life just in time for the birth of their son. Logan Oliver Breland made his screaming entrance into the world on March 16th. Amy was all too happy to have the 'alien baby' out of her womb. She said that he was a combination of the Tasmanian devil and Freddie Kruger as she felt like he was 'constantly spinning' or 'trying to claw his way out'.

His birth was relatively easy and it only took two doctors and six midwives to wrestle Amy as she had Logan. She made herself well known on the birthing floor and TJ feared for his life on four separate occasions but as soon as Logan was placed on her chest and Amy saw he wasn't part alien (the dream she'd been having since she was six months pregnant where she'd been injected with alien DNA proved fruitless), she sobbed into TJ's shoulder and thanked him for their wonderful gift.

Not long after his birth, Amy and TJ thoroughly checked Logan for any birthmarks or other identifying marks. Amy had watched far too many Lifetime movies about baby snatching and needed to be sure that the baby she put to her breast was in fact hers. So, every time the nurses brought him back from the nursery, Amy would strip him of his blankets and look for the tiny Australia shaped birthmark on the top of his right thigh. Once she was satisfied that the baby that was brought to her was indeed Logan, she would sit back and nurse the little bruiser until she was sure that he drank her dry.

They brought Logan home and Amy was pleased to be out of the hospital; the nurses seemed to wave goodbye slightly more enthusiastically than usually as TJ drove them home. Parking up at home, she was keen to get indoors and changed out of the clothes she'd been living in for four days and was almost out of the door before TJ had slipped it into park. He followed her indoors, sniffing out a beer as he tossed his keys onto the small table by the front door.

A full hour had gone past as they watched basketball and Amy remembered she hadn't turned her phone on since they got home. There was a flurry of messages and she waited for a couple of minutes before reading them. As soon as she read the first one, she shrieked more loudly than she had when she steam cleaned her hooha with Beca's cappuccino machine and darted to the front door. It was the fastest Amy had moved since having the baby.

"Ames?" TJ shouted after her. "Everything okay?"

"YES!" Amy yelled back. "We left the baby in the damn car!"

Thankfully for Logan's sake, that was the only time he got left somewhere or forgotten.

One by one their friends visited, all commenting on what a handsome little boy he was. Logan seemed to bring out a different side to Amy and while everyone sat back and waited for the phone call to say that Amy had turned him blue from his bath water, she showed a maternal instinct that no one knew she had. She was still Amy and still had one too many mishaps but the baby was safe and well looked after. He was a welcomed addition to their crazy aca-family.

* * *

><p>Days turned to weeks, weeks into months and months into years and Michael was soon a very happy, healthy, active two year old. His dark auburn hair, fair skin and green eyes gave him a very distinctive look. He was an absolutely gorgeous child both inside and out.<p>

Michael was thriving and growing just like every other child his age. His curiosity kept everyone, especially Chloe, on their toes at all times. Chloe and Josh soon forgot that he wasn't biologically their child; Michael picked up so many characteristics from both them and Nick that people who didn't know he was adopted commented on how alike the whole family looked.

The fall of Sami's senior year of high school she received her acceptance letter to UCLA. Based on her SAT and ACT scores as well as her GPA, work history with Paramount Pictures and extracurricular activities, she was offered a full ride to the UCLA Performing Arts program. I was her dream come true, especially since she knew that statistics showed that teen mothers very seldom if ever graduated high school.

Sami couldn't have been more excited if she tried and after telling Lisa the news, the next people to find out were Chloe and Josh as well as Beca and Jesse. Of course, a full family celebration was in order.

In the two years since they'd all met, the bond between everyone had grown immensely. Sami, Lisa and the rest of their clan were welcomed into the aca-family with loving and open arms. Sami hadn't just given Michael to Chloe, Josh and Nick, she had given him to the entire wacky bunch of misfits.

* * *

><p>During Sami's freshman year at UCLA she met a young man named Owen through a mutual friend. She and Owen had many of the same interests and began hanging out. Soon hanging out started to become nights out, parties, birthday gifts and trips to see each others families. They were inseparable. They supported each other in everything they did. Owen attended every production that Sami was in and Sami was at every football and baseball game that Owen played.<p>

During Christmas break in their Senior year, Sami went to Aspen with Owen and his family. During their trip Sami noticed that Owen was anxious, distracted, constantly fiddling with his phone and talking to himself. It wasn't until much later that she realized he had been letting his nerves get the better of him. He'd asked her to go for a walk with him, quite late one night, and she instantly worried that he was going to break up with her. They walked down to the lake and while he held her hand, linking his fingers tightly with hers, she still felt his distance.

He pulled away when they reached the waters edge and bent down to pick up a couple of loose stones which he fiddled with in his hands for quite a while before skimming them across the semi frozen pond. Sami perched up against a fallen log and crained her neck upwards, drinking in the clear night sky; quite taken with the bright night stars.

Owen joined her after a few minutes, linking his arm around her shoulder and pulling her close to him, kissing her onto the top of her head. She nestled into his shoulder as she felt him relax for the first time that day and wrapped an arm around his waist and they stood for a while, absorbing the vast landscape and the heavily scented pine aroma until they were both sniffling due to the cold night air.

She was lost in her thoughts, thinking back over the past couple of days and how special Christmas had been and how she didn't think she could be any happier.

"Sami?" He asked, pulling away from her. "What are your plans for next five years?"

"Dunno. Guess I just wanted to get through college and see where the road took me. I never really thought about long term, as I never really expected to have gotten this far. What about you?"

"Well, I had that meeting with the scout for the Oakland Raiders…"

"Oh yeah… did it go well?"

Owen smiled. "Babe, they signed me!"

Sami squealed with excitement. "Oh wow! Congratulations!"

"...and I got a signing bonus."

"That's so cool. I'm so excited for you. When do you leave?" Sami asked, trying to keep the rawness out of her voice as she realised that Owen was soon going to be leaving her for Oakland.

"It _is_ very cool." Owen said digging in his pocket for a moment before standing and turning to look at Sami properly. "And I'm out of here as soon as we graduate."

He kicked at the log a couple of times and Sami braced herself for him telling her he was leaving. She knew they were young and while she hoped they would spend the rest of the lives together, she figured she'd been kidding herself when she thought he felt as strongly about the relationship as she did. She watched as he gulped a few times before he grabbed at one of her hands, bringing it to his lips and kissing her cold fingers. He had a strange look on his face as he winked at her; his tell tale sign that he was up to no good.

"What are you up to?" She asked, clearly confused.

Owen got down on one knee and said, "Sami, I love you more than anything…"

"I love you too but what's going on?"

"I want to be with you for the rest of my life but-"

"But you are leaving for the Raiders, yeah dude, I get it. Is that what you are trying to tell me?"

"BUT..." Owen continued. "... I know we are young and the world will have an opinion about this."

"About what?" Sami asked him.

"I always had my life mapped out. Finish high school, get a scholarship, graduate college, get signed by an NFL scout and then follow that dream."

"Yeah, I get it." Sami sighed. "Can we just get this over with already?"

"Just give me a minute… ok? As I was saying, everything was going according to my plan, then you walked into my life and you fit in with my friends and my family, who adore you by the way, and then it seemed weird when you weren't around; I missed you when I didn't see you all the time and the world had shifted off kilter or something. You're the missing piece to my puzzle."

"Look, I know what's coming." Sami said sadly.

"What? How did you-"

"Just tell me okay. You don't want me around cramping your style if you are headed off to-"

"Sami, listen!"

"Just say it quick. Okay?"

"Sami! What I'm trying to say, what I'm trying to ask is if you would be prepared to spend the rest of your life with me … will you do me the honor of being my wife. Will you marry me?"

The squeal of surprise echoed around the lake and Owen's family, waiting inside the lodge, were all grinning as they knew that Owen had finally gathered up the courage after four days and asked Sami to marry him.

Sami, of course, had to phone her Mom right away with the news only to find out that Lisa already knew. A few weeks earlier Owen asked Lisa to lunch and expressed his desire to marry Sami. Lisa was surprised but she liked Owen and she was impressed that he asked permission. She was delighted that he was going to be a permanent part of their family.

Sami and Owen spent their journey back to Los Angeles making plans and discussing their ideas for a small but fun wedding. They found out their ideas were similar but Sami had just one request and after explaining her reasons to Owen, she called a very special couple and requested to speak to Jesse.

Beca, washing up the dinner dishes, watched Jesse's face turn quite pink as he spoke to Sami. She paused as she rinsed the suds from the plates and looked at him in surprise. She mouthed a silent question to ask if he was alright and he nodded earnestly before passing the phone over to Beca for Sami to tell her the news herself. Sami told Beca that she asked Jesse to give her away at her wedding to Owen in place of her father who had been killed in action. Jesse had trouble talking for the rest of the night; he was quite honored and overcome with emotion.

Seven months later, in a beautiful yet simple garden ceremony, Jesse very proudly and happily walked Sami down the aisle to Owen. And when they got to the altar and Jesse handed her over to Owen, he felt as proud as any man could be of the young woman she had become.


	27. Chapter 27 Epilogue

**~ Epilogue ~**

**15 years later**

Beca and Jesse spent the entire weekend helping Dylan pack his things for college. He applied, sent in an essay, a pre-screening video and a letter of recommendation, auditioned and received a call back all before finally being accepted to the very prestigious Juilliard School in New York. He planned to major in Music Composition with a minor in Liberal Arts. His dream was to follow in Jesse's footstep and compose music for movies and perhaps one day maybe even Broadway. He was crazy talented, something Beca and Jesse fostered and encouraged from day one with all of their children.

Dylan played piano and guitar by ear; he also sang, danced and acted. He was a straight 'A' student and complete theater nerd but his talents didn't end there, he also loved to play football, soccer and baseball. While Dylan was the absolute epitome of 'All American Kid' but much to his Uncle Benji's dismay, his talents did not include "close up magic". Dylan had it all and it was all rolled up into this amazingly talented package that was half Beca and half Jesse. His talents made his parents abilities look minuscule.

* * *

><p>As Beca sat quietly in the studio, in the only home her children had ever known, she realized the calm quiet of the house was speaking volumes. Her entire family was asleep. So why was she awake? In a just few short hours their family of 7, would load up and take Dylan to New York so he could begin the journey that would pave the way for the rest of his life.<p>

Yes, the Swanson's were now a family of 7, well 8 really if you counted Laney, which they did. Jesse and Beca were blessed with 2 more beautiful children. The Christmas before Ava and Brody turned 3 they found out they were expecting again, it was a very unexpected but welcomed surprise. The bigger surprise came a few weeks later when they found out they were expecting another set of twins.

Upon hearing the news, Beca looked at Jesse and told him that if he didn't "get snipped" he was never going to touch her, "down there", again. It was not longer after that Jesse made an appointment to have the dreaded 'V' procedure every man fears when it comes to his junk. It was the least he could do considering Beca had given him five amazing children. Jesse was a smart man, he valued his jewels and quite frankly, he enjoyed having sex with his wife. So it was bye bye "super sperm" and hell-o to all the sex they could handle without the surprise of more children.

One month before Dylan's 6th birthday, Beca and Jesse welcomed Jack Hartley (Sheila's maiden name) and Emma Alexandra into the family. Both babies were named after Jesse's beloved grandpa, Jack Alexander Swanson. Their family was now complete.

* * *

><p>And what about Laney?<p>

Laney was a very beloved member of the Swanson brood. She spent her days playing with the kids, evenings were spent in the family room and her nights were spent on the landing upstairs outside of the kids bedrooms. The kids were her babies and she was their best friend and protector, much like Nana in the movie Peter Pan.

So when Beca and Jesse had to tell the kids that she went to sleep and never woke up, they were of course, beyond devastated. They explained that Laney was old but the kids didn't want to hear it. They just wanted their Laney back. Dylan took her passing the hardest. He was almost 13 and Laney had been around since before he was born. So, now the Swanson family was a very sad family of 7.

Jesse removed Laney's collar and tags, choosing to keep them rather than bury her with them. He and Beca each kissed her sweet face before he wrapped Laney in her favorite blanket, though Beca couldn't bring herself to cover Laney's face. She was their first baby, their fur baby. They loved her just as much as their other five babies.

With tears rolling down her face, Beca laid in the grass next to Laney petting her head and soft velvety ears, while Jesse dug the hole in the yard where Laney was to be buried. They chose to take a few last moments alone with Laney before they woke the kids and told them of her passing.

As Jesse worked, Beca thought about the times that Laney snuggled up to her while she was pregnant, looking confused and cocking her head to the side as Dylan would kick and her tummy would ripple. She remembered how protective Laney would get if someone would come to the house in the evening and she would rush up the stairs to guard her little people as they slept. Beca would miss the way Laney would bark at puddles when they went on their evening walks, convinced that her reflection was that of another dog. And of course, the one thing they would miss the most would be the way Laney would trip them up when she got excited and darted around the room.

Laney was buried in their back yard under her favorite shade tree which overlooked the valley. She was buried among the frogs, lizards, hamsters, turtles and fish that shared their home at one time or another. She was buried with "her baby" which was a small Cabbage Patch Doll in a monkey costume as well as many of the kids most treasured possessions. They wanted to make sure she was comfortable and remembered them always.

While Dylan played a song he penned on his guitar, the younger kids all told their favorite stories and memories about Laney. When they were done, Jesse sent them all inside so that he could bury Laney. When he was sure the kids could no longer see him, he broke down. "Oh my Laney girl, I love you. You'll always hold a very special place in our hearts. Thank you for looking after us all. Sleep well and sweet dreams Laney Lou." The rest of the day was pretty much a wash. Beca and Jesse couldn't get the kids to do anything. All they wanted was Laney sitting at their feet as they sat on the couch and watched movies.

Several weeks later, on his way home from work, Jesse did something he knew may cause him to be banished to the guest room. He was tired of seeing his kids sad faces as they moped around because they missed Laney.

When he got home he called Beca and the kids into the family room. In the middle of the room was a good sized box with a big bow on the top. He explained that it was a surprise for the entire family and that they should each put a hand on the lid. On the count of 3, they were to all help pull the lid off.

The kids went wild. Inside the box was a 6 week old solid black Labrador puppy with a brand new red collar and a heart shaped tag engraved with the name Mila Swanson. To his shock and surprise, Beca wasn't mad. In fact, she snuggled into his side and thanked him for putting smiles back on their kids faces. The Swanson's were now officially a family of 8 again.

* * *

><p>Beca walked into the family room and looked around at all the suitcases and carry-ons that littered the floor. She was so glad that Jesse had everything else shipped, otherwise they would have needed to rent a private plane to get everyone and everything to New York.<p>

In a few short hours they would all be boarding a plane bound for New York. Beca and Jesse decided to make a family trip of it since the younger kids had never been to New York but always wanted to go. They wanted to see many things but at the top of the list was Lincoln Center "where the magic happened".

Dylan had been to New York a couple of times, once to visit the campus and once to audition. Both of those times he made the trip with his parents while Beca's Mom and Dad stayed with the younger kids.

She stared at the wall in the family room that had come to define their family. The items on it were her Mother's Day gift from the year Ava and Brody were born. The wall was large and was covered with canvas photos and clocks. Jesse had a picture of each of the kids from the day they were born and had them put on square canvases and hung on the wall. Underneath each child's canvas was the child's name and date of birth and just below that was a clock set to the time they were born. In the center of the wall there was a large rectangular picture of Beca and Jesse from their wedding day on a canvas. Under that photograph was the date of their wedding and a clock. The clock was set to the time they were pronounced husband and wife. Above all of the photographs was the phrase "In these moments, time stood still…"

Beca's eyes filled up as she looked from picture to picture then around the room. So many memories, so many happy times, so much joy all of which played through her mind like one of Jesse's beloved movies. She wrapped her robe a little tighter around herself as she wandered up the stairs. She quietly opened Dylan's bedroom door and watched in wonder as her baby slept. He was a carbon copy, the complete and total spitting image of Jesse, except for one thing, he had Beca's big blue eyes.

She found herself wondering, "When had Dylan become this strapping lad?" "When had he grown up?"

Beca walked across the room and knelt next to his bed. Tears fell down her cheeks as she gazed at him. He was such a beautiful boy with Jesse's kind, gentle, carefree heart and her spunk, deadpan and wit. He, like the rest of their children, were the perfect combination of Beca and Jesse, each different in their own right yet so much alike.

"Will you ever know how much you changed my life and how much you are loved?" she whispered before placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. "I love you my sweet, beautiful boy and I miss you so much already. What am I going to do without you?" she kissed both of his cheeks and started singing,

**_"Close your eyes,_**  
><strong><em>Have no fear,<em>**  
><strong><em>The monsters gone,<em>**  
><strong><em>He's on the run and your daddy's here,<em>**

**_Beautiful,_**  
><strong><em>Beautiful, beautiful,<em>**  
><strong><em>Beautiful Boy,<em>**

**_Before you go to sleep,_**  
><strong><em>Say a little prayer,<em>**  
><strong><em>Every day in every way,<em>**  
><strong><em>It's getting better and better,<em>**

**_Beautiful,_**  
><strong><em>Beautiful, beautiful,<em>**  
><strong><em>Beautiful Boy"<em>**

Beca kissed his forehead, her nose buried in his thick brown hair, taking in his scent, before standing to walk across the room. As she reached the door she turned around for another glance at her first born. "I'll love you forever, I'll love you for always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be." she whispered as she backed out of the room and closed the door.

She quietly made her way back downstairs to the family room where she snuggled on the couch and began looking at videos of Dylan when he was little. She found herself wondering if she had ever thought about the day he would leave them for college. If she was honest with herself, she didn't think she ever had, because she secretly hoped he would never leave them.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw something move and she looked up. It was Jesse. He was leaning against the wall, arms folded across his bare chest, watching her although she wasn't sure for how long.

To that very minute, he had the ability to make her heart flutter and the butterflies in her tummy go crazy. She was still madly, deeply in love with the nerd that stole her heart all those years ago. They had been together almost 25 years and were married for almost 19. He had the ability to make her so damn mad that she could ring his neck but she loved him and couldn't imagine her life without him.

As he stood watching her, he thought, "What did I do to deserve this beautiful, loving woman? She is my love, my life, my everything and without her my life would be nothing. She's just as beautiful today as she was the day I met her." Finally breaking the silence between them, he asked, "Whatcha doing?" as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Reminiscing…" she said with a sigh. "... and trying to figure out a way to stop time before we leave for New York in the morning." she said as she patted the place next to her on the couch.

Jesse walked across the room and kissed her gently on her lips before lifting the blanket off her lap and taking his place next to her. "How's that working out for you?"

"Shut up smart ass." she muttered with a smile. "And give me my blanket back. I had it first." she said in a playful tone.

Jesse laughed. "So, what are we watching?" he asked as Beca snuggled into his chest.

"Home movies… mostly of Dylan." she said as she hit play on the remote.

A few minutes into the DVD they were both killing themselves laughing. The video was from Dylan's 3rd birthday and the theme was Toy Story. Beca's parents searched far and wide before finally finding a real pull string Woody doll to give Dylan. When he opened it he gasped and said, "Look Colton, my Woody is bigger than yours!" All of the adults could be heard laughing uncontrollably on the video with the kids watching and wondering what was so funny.

As they sat quietly watching DVD after DVD, the only sounds in the room apart from their occasional commentary, was coming from the TV and their children as they watched them on the screen.

Jesse reached up to wipe a tear from his eye, "Juilliard, babe… Juilliard."

"I know." Beca said wiping her own tears.

"I looked it up today, it's over 2800 miles... he's gonna be clear across the country."

"I know." she said again snuggling further into his chest. "Please don't remind me."

As the movies continued to play, more and more tears fell. It was then that they realized just how much they were going to miss him. Dylan was theirfirst-born and their first to leave the nest. They had four other children but Dylan's absence was definitely going to be felt. He wasn't gone yet but the nest already felt a little chillier.

When they finished watching the home movies, Jesse decided to go back to bed. He tried to convince Beca to go with him but ever the hard head, she declined telling him that there was something she needed to do before she laid down.

She went back to her studio, continuing to cry her eyes out. Her baby was leaving, but not just leaving, he was going all the way across the country. She wouldn't see his beautiful face everyday and the way his eyes sparkled like Jesse's when he got excited about something. Wiping the tears from her eyes so that she could see what she was doing, she picked up her favorite pen, a piece of fancy Swanson family crest stationery and began writing.

_My Dearest Dylan,_

_Well... it's here, the day I knew was coming but I prayed so hard that somehow, someway time would stand still for just another minute or ten. You're moving clear across the country tomorrow and I can honestly say, that while I know you're ready, I'm not. I'm not ready. Where has the time gone my little love and why did it all have to pass by so quickly?_

_I swear I only blinked a couple of times and now you're all grown up, leaving the nest and flying off with wings bigger than life itself. I couldn't be more proud if I tried, yet I'm sad all at the same time. This is so bittersweet. I hope everyone at Juilliard knows just how lucky they are to be getting you but no matter how lucky they are, they'll never be luckier than me and your dad._

_From the moment I knew you were growing inside me, I knew. I knew you would be special. I knew you would grab life by the horns and embrace every moment of it. **'I knew I loved you before I met you'** and I knew that I'd love you for the rest of my life._

_On the day you were born, I received the most beautiful and amazing gift. Out of all of the women on this planet, I was chosen and entrusted to care for and love you. You were this tiny perfect little human who grew inside of me for 9 months and the minute I saw your tiny perfect little face I knew life would never again be the same, nor would I want it to be. It was in those very first moments that I knew you were special. Not because you're my son, but because you truly are special to all those who know and love you._

_I didn't have the first clue what motherhood would be like but now I can't imagine not being a mom. I haven't always done or said the right things but you've always been a constant source of love and happiness. I've been blessed beyond measure beautiful boy and I'm a much better person for the joy you've brought to my life._

_You're a wise old soul who sees the good in everyone and everything. You're an amazing older brother and role model for Brody, Ava, Jack and Emma; they are so lucky to have you to look up to. You mean the world to all of them, so please, after we've gotten you settled and it's time for us to head back home, be sweet to them. I know you'll be busy but please set aside some time to call, text or video chat with them. They're going to miss you terribly._

_Dad & I are SO proud of you and all you've accomplished so far. We've been so truly and awesomely blessed to have had you all to ourselves for the last 19 years and now it's time for us to set you free into the world so that you can accomplish your goals and dreams. There are so many amazing things headed your way. Embrace each and every one of these special moments with everything you have... they all pass so quickly. Enjoy every moment of your time at Juilliard, you've worked hard and earned this amazing life changing opportunity._

_A few things to keep in mind as you begin your college journey:_

_1) Every radio station has a semen smeared desk... even Juilliard._

_2) A-capella girls don't always marry A-capella Boys and have A-ca Children._

_3) It's never ok to scream "We are the Kings of campus!" on hood night. Never._

_4) Juice Pouches and Rocky don't always get the girl._

_5) Stay far away from girls that call "it" a dude._

_6) 'Aca-Bitches' are crazy and despite what Aunt Aubrey says, toners do not exist._

_7) Nodes are real._

_8) Eating burgers everyday for lunch is not acceptable. Ketchup is not a vegetable._

_9) Cardio and vertical running never killed anyone._

_10) Saying 'a-ca' in front of a word doesn't make it cool or acceptable, no matter what Aunt Chloe says._

_11) Downtown doesn't always mean what you think it does._

_12) If you see old dudes singing "Booty Wurk" run the other way._

_When you meet that special girl, and you will, she's out there, somewhere, just waiting for you to find her. Treat her like a princess and always show her the love and respect she deserves. I never knew true love until I met your dad. I don't have to tell you how amazing he is. You are so much like him and any girl would be luck to call you her guy. Love at first sight is a real thing._

_**"My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,**_  
><em><strong>Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,<strong>_  
><em><strong>You never need to carry more than you can hold,<strong>_  
><em><strong>And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,<strong>_  
><em><strong>I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,<strong>_  
><em><strong>Yeah, this, is my wish."<strong>_

_Dad and I love you to the moon and back and more than there are stars in the sky._

_**"Don't you forget about me"**_

_Love Always & Forever_

_XOXO_

_Mom_

**"_You'll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You'll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go (Aunt Amy! LOL!). So be sure when you step, step with care and great tact and remember that Life's a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left." ― __Dr. Seuss__, __Oh, The Places You'll Go!_**

Beca folded the letter and placed in an envelope then put it in Dylan suitcase where he would find it once he started to unpack and set up his dorm room. This was really it, Dylan was off to college and there was nothing that could stop it or slow it down.

As Beca took off her robe and placed it on the foot of the bed, she realized that life in the Swanson home, while still chaotic, would be a little quieter and a little less full. She snuggled in next to the love of her life, enjoying his warm, safe embrace. Tomorrow she would need his strength and courage to release her first born into the world knowing that he would do brilliant and amazing things with his life.

* * *

><p><strong>Song References:<strong>

Beautiful Boy by John Lennon

I Knew I Loved You Before I Met You by Savage Garden

My Wish by Rascal Flatts

Don't You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds

**A/N: **Thank you for reading this story all the way to its end. It's been a LONG journey... I know! This was the first time I'd ever thought to write anything let alone publish it. I've thoroughly enjoyed writing this fanfic and appreciate each and every one of you who read and reviewed. The epilogue was written from my own personal experience and couldn't be more heartfelt. I've laid everything on the table... every bit of love, joy, happiness, sorrow, pain and pride. Laughter through tears really is the best medicine.

While this story is over, I'm not finished writing fanfic. Please feel free to read my other stories: Gonna Make You Love Me and My Life Would Suck Without You. You can also follow me on Twitter cajunqueen714.


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